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The Holocaust was one of the most unimaginable crimes in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated six million Jewish people.

Its roots lie in anti-Semitism, a hatred and prejudice towards the Jewish community, something Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party used to galvanise a disillusioned German people in the aftermath of World War One.

By the start of World War Two in 1939, Hitler had already deprived the Jewish community of basic civil rights but from this point their persecution became even worse. They were crowded into ghettos in their home towns and cities.

By 1942, the Nazis had planned something they called 'the Final Solution'. This would see Jewish people gassed in large numbers at concentration camps. It was a deliberately planned act of genocide, an attempt to eradicate an entire people. Half a million Roma and Sinti people were also killed in the Holocaust, as were quarter of a million people with mental and physical disabilities. The Nazis also sterilised deaf people and had members of the gay community imprisoned.

On 27 January 1945, the infamous concentration camp Auschwitz, in south-west Poland, was liberated by Russian troops.

27 January is now the day the world remembers the Holocaust, its victims and those from other acts of genocide throughout history.

• If you want to learn more about the history behind the Holocaust, explains what happened in more detail.

• Anne Frank's diary is a well-known account of this period in history. You can find out more about her in this Newsround story.

• For further information about Holocaust Memorial Day, .

This article was published in January 2019 and updated in January 2024