Lord Provost John Letford said at the Caird Hall: "We were over the moon to have been chosen to host the event.

"Around 1,400 children were in the Caird Hall to hear our speakers. It is fantastic to have our young people, who are great ambassadors, involved.

"They are our future and they are genuinely interested in what happened in the past."

John Swinney, MSP, representing the Scottish government said: "Holocaust Memorial Day reminds us of the terrible consequences of hatred and the language of hatred."

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance added: "Commemoration is about changing the present and shaping the future."

The keynote speaker, former Chief Rabbi of Denmark Bent Melchior, said: "Today is not a Jewish day. There were many different groups of victims and they were all persecuted for being different.

"You must always remember the fate of all the victims.

"I came from a country that was an exception. I wish that it had been Poland, where so many perished, that was the exception.

"If it had not been for my fellow Danes I, too, would have been a victim of the Nazis. I feel obligated to keep up the work of spreading the word of not having hatred for anyone.

"If I were a citizen of Dundee or Scotland, I would be very proud today."

Also speaking at the event were Tokyo Holocaust Museum founder Fumiko Ishioka, survivor George Brady and his daughter Lara.

Hana's Suitcase - the story of George's sister - was explained by them.

George told the audience: "The reception we have been given here has been wonderful.

"I was born in Czechoslovakia in 1928. My parents were both killed in Auschwitz in 1942.

"We had a brave Christian uncle who asked Hana and me to go and live with him. Then we were ordered to go to a nearby town to be sent to Theresienstadt, where they separated us.

"We spent two-and-a half years there. In September, 1944, I was transported to Auschwitz and sent to do slave labour work.

"My sister, 13 at the time, was sent on another transport and was excited because she thought she was going to see me again.

"When she arrived, they cut her hair off and stripped her. She was sent straight to the gas chambers.

"I was lucky enough to survive. I made up my mind to live for the future.

I have three sons and a daughter and I've had a very happy life, but the thought of Hana going to her death on her own was always with me.

"Then I got the letter from Japan. A broadcaster heard about the story and interviewed me. A friend wrote the book and it has been read by millions of children.

"There has been a TV show, play and a movie and there's a website.

"Hana, who wanted to be a teacher, is now educating millions of children."

During the event, there was a moving performance by the Do Your Thing Dance Group for disabled people.

Pupils Faith Bulle and Iona Broadhurst spoke of their Lessons from Auschwitz visit to Poland and there were musical performances by the Young Performers Choir, the Dundee Schools String Ensemble and organist Stuart Muir. Pupils from Arbroath Academy performed A Survivor.

The event was organised jointly by Dundee City Council, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Scottish Inter Faith Council, the Anne Frank Trust and the Scottish government.