Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on 27 January, the day in 1945 on which the remaining prisoners at Auschwitz were liberated by the Russian army, closing one of the blackest chapters in human history: the persecution, deportation, imprisonment and genocide of millions of Jews.

There are numerous events in Rome to mark the occasion. From 27 January to 10 March the Complesso Monumentale del Vittoriano in Piazza Venezia will be holding the exhibition 1940-1945. Auschwitz-Birkenau, assembled by the historian Marcello Pezzetti and the journalist Bruno Vespa. There will be original documents, films, letters and diaries, many never seen before in Italy, covering the lifespan of the largest concentration camp complex created by the Nazi regime.

On 27 January at 09.45 at the Quirinale palace the president of the republic Giorgio Napolitano will bestow medals of honour upon Italians who were deported and family members of those who never made it home. Following this, at 10.15, the winners of the primary and secondary school competition