Red crosses remember disabled people killed by Nazi regime

Thousands of pairs of red crosses are on display at Durham Cathedral this weekend, as part of an international project to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day.

For more than a year, community groups, schools and individuals have been creating pairs of red crosses. Each pair represents a person with disabilities, who was killed by the Nazi regime in the early 1940s. The idea began in the United States and has since been adopted elsewhere.

Members of Coxhoe Quilt Group have played a major role in the project, though contributions have also come from elsewhere in County Durham. Crosses have been sewn, knitted and drawn.

The venture has been named the 70273 Project; a reference to the number of people with disabilities killed by the Nazis in the years 1940-41.

Alongside the Durham display, similar exhibitions are taking place in the Channel Islands and in Kent.

The eventual aim is to create 70,273 pairs of crosses. It is estimated that the project is currently around half way to that target.

The crosses are on display at Durham Cathedral throughout the weekend.