This year Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27) marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Visitors to the Imperial War Museum London will be reminded of the wider history of the Nazi persecution programme and its terrible consequences in its award-winning exhibition.

It brings together more than 600 items including photographs, documents, newspapers, artefacts, posters and sections of archival film to trace the history of this terrible event during the World War Two.

A 13 metre-long model depicts the arrival of a deportation train from Hungary at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944, while testimonies from 18 survivors bring a moving and haunting perspective.

Toys, diaries, storybooks and handmade mementos reveal people’s efforts to survive. Photograph albums and contemporary newspapers speak of news of the persecutions arriving in Britain Later this spring, IWM will also be marking the 70th anniversary with a series of events and the launch of new digital learning resources for schools.

Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ. Details: iwm.org.uk/history/the-holocaust

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Bergen Belsen The Compound for Women

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Human Laundry by Doris Clare Zinkeisen