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PAUSE AND REFLECT

Cars stop in the middle of motorways and thousands gather at Auschwitz to remember the millions slaughtered as Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day

Pedestrians stood still, buses stopped on busy streets and cars pulled over on motorways in Israel

TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill in Israel yesterday as people stopped to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

A two minute siren is the centrepiece of the annual Remembrance Day for those who were murdered by Nazi Germany during World War Two.

Israelis stand still next to their cars as a siren sounds in memory of victims of the Holocaust in Tel Aviv
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Israelis stand still next to their cars as a siren sounds in memory of victims of the Holocaust in Tel AvivCredit: AP:Associated Press
People stopped in their tracks for a two-minute siren that wailed across the country
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People stopped in their tracks for a two-minute siren that wailed across the countryCredit: AP:Associated Press
The annual Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the six million Jews killed
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The annual Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the six million Jews killedCredit: Getty Images

Striking images showed pedestrians stood still, buses stopped on busy streets and cars pulled over on motorways with their drivers standing on the roads with their heads bowed.

A wreath laying ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial followed, with Israeli leaders and Holocaust survivors in attendance.

A public reading of names also took place in Israel's parliament, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders recited names of relatives who were killed.

Surfers stand still on the Mediterranean Sea beachfront as a two-minute siren sounds in memory of victims of the Holocaust, in Netanya, Israel
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Surfers stand still on the Mediterranean Sea beachfront as a two-minute siren sounds in memory of victims of the Holocaust, in Netanya, IsraelCredit: AP:Associated Press
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in JerusalemCredit: AP:Associated Press
People stop and stand in silence on a Jerusalem street
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People stop and stand in silence on a Jerusalem streetCredit: Getty Images
Israelis standing on a main Jerusalem street as a two-minute siren wails
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Israelis standing on a main Jerusalem street as a two-minute siren wailsCredit: EPA

Other ceremonies, prayers and musical performances took place in schools, community centres and army bases around the country.

The annual remembrance is one of the most solemn days on Israel's calendar. Restaurants, cafes and places of entertainment shut down, and radio and TV programs are dedicated almost exclusively to documentaries about the Holocaust, interviews with survivors and sombre music.

The Israeli flag flew at half-mast.

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Jews from around the world also marched the 3km route from Auschwitz to Birkenau commemorating the Holocaust victims.

Hundreds of thousands of survivors fled to Israel after the war.

Some 160,000 elderly survivors remain, with a similar number worldwide.

With the passing years, and the dwindling in numbers of survivors, greater emphasis has been put on commemorating their individual stories.

Holocaust survivor Bella Avner, right, is helped by her son to lay a flower, in memory of her family who did not survive the Holocaust, on the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration Camp memorial
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Holocaust survivor Bella Avner, right, is helped by her son to lay a flower, in memory of her family who did not survive the Holocaust, on the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration Camp memorialCredit: EPA
Participants of the yearly March of the Living place memory plaques on the rails in the former German Nazi Death Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau
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Participants of the yearly March of the Living place memory plaques on the rails in the former German Nazi Death Camp Auschwitz-BirkenauCredit: AP:Associated Press
Jews from Israel and around the world marched the 3km route from Auschwitz to Birkenau commemorating the Holocaust victims
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Jews from Israel and around the world marched the 3km route from Auschwitz to Birkenau commemorating the Holocaust victimsCredit: AP:Associated Press

The central theme of this year's commemorations at Yad Vashem is "Restoring Their Identities: The Fate of the Individual During the Holocaust."

The Holocaust memorial called on the public to share testimony and provide more names of those who perished. To date, Yad Vashem's Shoah Victims' Names Project has collected over 4,700,000 names of the victims.

"It is a race against the clock to collect as many names of those murdered during the Holocaust before there are no more survivors left," said Alexander Avram, the director of Vad Vashem's Hall of Names.

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