Left: a girl liberated from Belsen, April 1945. Courtesy Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre

January 27, 2003 is Holocaust Memorial Day. The day marks the 58th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi extermination camp, and is an opportunity to remember all the victims of the Holocaust and other atrocities.

Right: Anne Frank - copyright AFS/AFH Amsterdam, photo Anne Frank Trust UK.

"This event reminds us of our responsibility to educate - particularly our young people - about the Holocaust and other more recent atrocities that remind us of what can happen if we do not continue to be vigilant in preventing the spread of racism and intolerance," said Home Secretary David Blunkett.

The City of Edinburgh has been chosen as the location for a national commemorative event. There are other events and exhibitions across the country, many of them aimed at or involving children and young people.

Left: Jews in Buchenwald concentration camp shortly after it was overrun by units of the United States Army, April 1945. Imperial War Museum, EA63141

Beginning in Edinburgh at the Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street between January 20 and 25, you can see an exhibition by Edinburgh children of drawings of their shoes. The drawings represent the personal effects left behind by victims of the concentration camps.

The City Art Centre also in Edinburgh is showing Holocaust artworks entitled 'I knew I was painting for my life' from January 23 - March 1. Throughout the war, Marianne Grant endured occupation, work camps and concentration camps and spent time at both Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz-Birkenau camps. Whenever she could she sketched and painted what she saw. This is only the second time her wartime paintings have been shown.

Right: courtesy The Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre

Out of Ashes at the Dewsbury Museum, Kirklees from January 24 - March 2 is an exhibition of over 30 prints from two Jewish artists who survived the Holocaust.

Lent by the Museum of Resistance and Deportation in Besancon, France, the exhibition chronicles the experiences of Isaac Belfer, who escaped from Warsaw to Russia through the forests of Poland and Isaac Celnikier, survivor of five concentration camps. Out of Ashes will move on to Huddersfield Art Gallery from March 8 -22 and Bagshaw Museum between March 29 - May 25.

Left: Spoons, courtesy The Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre

'Am I my Brother's Keeper? - Rescue in the Holocaust', looks at Europe under the Nazis at The Jewish Museum in Finchley, London, until June. It shows acts of courage during the war - people who were brave enough to risk their own lives to save others and the ways they did this. Through the stories of individuals, the rescued and rescuers, it touches on the moral and ethical issues involved. Some of those whose stories are told will be available to give talks.

Also on display will be 'Forgive and do not Forget', an exhibition of shoes by ceramic artist Jenny Stolzenberg, symbolising the millions of individual lives lost during the Holocaust.

Right: yellow star which Jews in the Third Reich were forced to wear. Copyright, Imperial War Museum.

Two new permanent exhibitions are on show at the Imperial War Museum. The Holocaust Exhibition is an account of the Nazi persecution of the Jews and other groups before and during the Second World War. It is accompanied on January 26 by the testimony of three survivors - The Importance of Remembering - the experiences of Rudy Kennedy, Roman Halter and Freddie Knoller. Admission is free but you must phone before to book tickets for this event. 020 7416 5439

Also on display is Crimes against Humanity which explores the subject of genocide by looking at some of the common features of the bloodshed in Nazi occupied Europe, Armenia, Cambodia, East Timor, Bosnia and Rwanda.

Left: shoes by ceramic artist Jenny Stolzenburg feature in the exhibition 'Forgive and do not Forget' at the Jewish Museum, Finchley

Other smaller exhibitions include Anne Frank: A History for Today at Wood Green Library until February 2. This explains the history of Anne Frank, her family and the rise of the Nazis. At the same time it looks at genocide and citizenship issues today.

Right: Olga Masoli with Marcel Ladenheim. Olga and her sister Esther sheltered Marcel during the war. From Am I My Brother's Keeper? at the Jewish Museum, Finchley.

Outside London at Loughborough Library, Leicestershire, from January 25 to February 1 there is an exhibition of material and literature about the Holocaust. And Newbury Library, Berkshire, is holding a display at 12.30pm on January 27 accompanied by readings by local children.

For more information about events nationwide please click here to visit the national holocaust memorial day website - www.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk.