There was a somber mood as Diplomats from various countries gathered at the UN Complex in Nairobi last Friday to remember the atrocities Jews faced during the Nazi regime in Germany.

Known as The Holocaust it began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler took the reins of the German government. He went around the country meting all kinds of evil on Jews and killing them. They were killed in concentration camps and death camps into which they were beguiled and then thrown into gas chambers and gas vans.

Apart from the Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses and the disabled were targeted for persecution. By the time the mass massacre ended in 1945, 11 million people had been killed with 6 million of them being Jews.

In memory of these victims, guests led by Israeli ambassador, Gil Haskel, lit candles and observed a moment of silence.

In attendance were executive director of UN-Habitat Joan Clos, Belgium's Ambassador Bart Ouvry, his Congo Brazzaville counterpart JP Ossey, deputy ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Friedo Sielemann and United Nations Information Centre director Nasser Ega-Musa.