Surrey’s History Centre in Woking is marking Holocaust Memorial Day with a new month-long exhibition and a live online event.

The exhibition tells the stories of 13 British Born victims of Aktion T4, which was a Nazi extermination programme responsible for the deaths of approximately 70,000 adults with mental and physical disabilities.

The live Zoom event is on Wednesday, January 29, at 5.30pm and tickets can be booked via the History Centre’s website. It will feature presentations from Dr Helen Atherton (University of Leeds) and Dr Simon Jarrett (Open University), the curators of the exhibition.

Both speakers will discuss the T4 programme and the meticulous research that has unearthed 13 life stories and painstakingly reconstructed the lives of these people.

Surrey History Centre was able to contribute directly to the research of the work as one victim, Anna Elsie Panitza (1897-1940) had lived in Surrey. Staff discovered that she was admitted to Surrey County Council’s mental health hospitals at Brookwood and Netherne. Her medical case notes, now preserved at the centre, have filled important gaps in her story.

Councillor Denise Turner Stewart, deputy leader and cabinet member for communities said: “Yet again Surrey History Centre has played a key role in helping piece together an important story.

“We are privileged to have this facility, and I encourage everyone to visit. There is a full programme of fascinating events for all ages to experience.

“The History Centre provides access for anyone who wishes to research Surrey and its people. The staff are welcoming and knowledgeable and understand how the links with our past help shape who we all are today. I’ll certainly be going to see this particular exhibition and I hope many of our Surrey residents can do the same.”

The exhibition will run until January 30.