HOLOCAUST survivor Joanna Millan spoke today at a commemoration in New Brighton of her "healthy anger" to raise awareness of the atrocities she suffered.

The event marked Holocaust Memorial Day and was attended by local school children who had recently visited the Nazi death camp Auschwitz.

Joanna said: “I am angry. I am angry at all those millions of people in Europe who helped and collaborated with the Nazis.

“That anger in a way is healthy because it gets me out of my chair.

“I cannot change it but I can make sure people do not forget about it and move on.

“I have to try to do something to change people’s attitudes, and these young people here today are the best people to do this with. It will not happen overnight."

Born Bela Rosenthal in August 1942 in Berlin, she and her mother were taken from their home and sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto.

Her mother contracted TB leaving Bela alone in the camp.

After liberation Bela along with five other orphans were flown to England where she was adopted by a Jewish couple living in London.

They decided it would be better for her to have a less German-sounding name so it was changed to Joanna.

Deputy mayor of Wirral Cllr Pat Hackett welcomed her back to the borough's commemoration at the Floral Pavilion, which she has attended twice previously.

“It is a privilege for us to welcome Joanna to Wirral and her testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced, " he said.

Karen Pollock, Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive, said: “The trust educates and engages students from across the UK from all communities about the Holocaust and there can be no better way than through the first-hand testimony of a survivor.

"Joanna’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing her testimony, students will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead."