London (CNN) The remains of six unidentified Holocaust victims are to be given a formal Jewish burial after being stored at London's Imperial War Museum (IWM) for decades.

The victims will be laid to rest in a Jewish cemetery in Hertfordshire on January 20, just one week before Holocaust Memorial Day. It is believed to be the first time that victims of the Holocaust will be buried in the UK.

Melvyn Hartog, Head of United Synagogue Burial -- the burial society overseeing the ceremony -- told CNN that burying the remains of the victims is a "unique and holy responsibility."

He said that following the funeral service the remains will be taken to their final resting place, and Holocaust survivors will be invited to fill the graves with earth.

The ash and bone fragments, believed to be from five adults and a child, have been stored at the IWM since January 1997, when a private donor bequeathed a number of Holocaust-related items to the museum.

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