27/01/2018 Newsround

Hey.

Whitney here with your top stories

this Saturday afternoon.

First up, today is

Holocaust Memorial Day.

Events are being held around

the world to remember

the six million Jewish people

and millions of other

people who were killed

by the Nazis in the lead up

to and during World War II.

Most of the victims were killed

because they belonged to certain

racial or religious groups

which the Nazis wanted to wipe out.

Ricky has this report.

When World War II broke out

in 1939, Germany was run

by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Hitler thought Jewish

people were inferior,

and planned ways to kill them.

Anti-Jewish laws were passed.

Jewish shops had

their windows smashed.

And Jewish people were forced

out of their homes.

The Nazis rounded up millions

of Jews, as well as disabled people,

gay people, and other groups Hitler

thought were inferior,

and sent them to prisons called

concentration camps.

Families were split up,

forced to do hard physical work,

and there was little food.

Millions of people were

deliberately killed there.

It is thought nearly seven

out of every ten Jews

from across Europe died.

Some children did manage

to escape Nazi Germany.

Ruth was one of those

who managed to escape.

Street by street, Jewish

people were cleared.

At any moment, it was

probably our turn.

We opened the door to a woman

from the British Embassy

who had braved the curfew.

She brought the entry visas

to Britain, train tickets

to get through Germany,

through Holland, and

a ferry to Ramsgate.

Heinz also managed to

escape the Holocaust.

There was nowhere to go.

No country wanted us.

Frank, my brother, was in Leeds.

And he tried very hard

to get me a training post.

And he finally succeeded,

and I came to Leeds.

We managed to get visas

for our parents, and they came -

thank God, because four days later,

war broke out.

Every year, people remember

those who lost their

lives in the Holocaust.

It helps teach us about these

terrible events, and makes sure

they are not forgotten

so that they can never happen again.

And to find out more

about the Holocaust and why events

are held to remember what happened,

you can head to our guide

at Newsround online.

And if you're upset by this story

or by anything you hear in the news,

there's loads of help and advice

there too.

Now, big news in the world

of tennis, Caroline Wozniacki has

just won the Australian Open!

It took an epic match -

two hours 50 minutes,

and three sets - to beat

Romaninan Simona Halep.

Despite having been world

number one in the past,

this is the first Grand Slam trophy

that Wozniacki has won.

Well done from Newsround.

On to France now, where people

in Paris are getting ready

for flooding this morning,

with water levels expected

to peak over the weekend.

Some of the wettest January weather

in more than a 100 years made

the River Seine rise to more

than five metres

above its normal level.

Hundreds of people have had to move

out of their houses,

and several roads, stations,

tunnels and parks have been closed.

The Louvre Museum has even shut down

the displays on its lowest floors

so they don't get too wet.

Next up, you will recognise

many of these characters.

They're from some of

the most-loved children's books.

But have you ever wondered who

the person is behind these drawings?

Well, his name is Axel Scheffler,

and we've been to meet him.

Axel Scheffler is an illustrator

who has delighted fans

with his works for decades.

He was born in Hamburg

in Germany, and came to the UK

to study art in 1982.

Axel spent much of his

childhood drawing.

This is some of his work

when he was just eight years old.

Since then, he's illustrated

over 100 books, many

written by Julia Donaldson.

These are just some

of his most famous -

like Stick Man, the Snail

and the Whale, and Zog.

But the most famous of all has

to be the Gruffalo.

So, how does Axel bring

his ideas to life?

When I get the text,

I start doodling.

I start trying to develop

the character first.

Quite often I've got

immediately an idea

of what the character

should look like.

But sometimes, like with

the Gruffalo, the editor said,

"can you draw him a little

bit less scary?"

So sometimes I have

to adapt it a little bit.

Usually I like the smaller rodent

characters better than people.

They're easiest for me to draw.

And what's the best thing

about being an illustrator?

I see so many families who love

them, and for whom the books

are really important as a link

between parents and children.

But it's also of course a nice

occupation to just draw.

And finally, the 2019

Rugby World Cup in Japan

is now only a year away,

and big news...

The mascots have just been revealed.

I know what you're thinking -

but no, they haven't given

the Tellytubbies a make-over.

This is Ren and Gee,

and they're a pair of pot-bellied

lions, which are mythical

creatures in Japan.

You might have noticed their faces

have been shaped like rugby balls,

and they've also got manes, which...

Yeah, I have no idea why

they're swinging them.

But it's a good dance move, I'm

loving it!

That's all from me for now, but I'll

be back right here in an hour.

So, if you haven't already, grab

some lunch and I'll see you soon.

If you have, then why not head

online and have a nose

through the rest of today's stories.

And why not try out

our quiz of the day.