Live: Solemn Ceremony for International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Message from President Charles Michel on the occasion of the Holocaust Memorial Day
Every year, we see the last survivors of this abomination leave us. Soon, no one will remain to bear witness. With each passing year, the Shoah inches towards becoming a historical event. More and more distant, more and more abstract. Especially in the eyes of the younger generations of Europeans. This is why, paradoxically, the more the years go by, the more important the commemoration becomes. The more essential.
Two years ago, during the international commemoration at the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau, I was deeply moved by a survivor of the Death Marches. His name is Marian Turski. He addressed his granddaughter, and all the young people, tired of hearing about Auschwitz, about the War, about the Holocaust. He said, ‘Auschwitz did not fall from the sky. It came in small steps. It entered amid the indifference and the discrimination against the rights of minorities. And what happened once, can happen again.’ Marian Turski’s powerful message to the young people: ‘Don’t be indifferent! Because if you are not careful, another Auschwitz could fall from the sky!’
Today, the lessons of the Shoah are more relevant than ever. First, because Jewish people feel threatened. And they are threatened. They are even attacked in Europe. Just because they are Jewish. We do not accept this. We will never accept it. It cannot be repeated often enough: Europe would not be what it is today without Jewish people. And Europe without Jewish people would no longer be Europe.
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The Holocaust is a defining legacy of European history. Remembrance, education and research of the Holocaust is an essential instrument to prevent antisemitism and racism today. On 27 January every year, the European Commission commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Remembrance, education and research of the Holocaust is an essential instrument to prevent antisemitism and racism today.
On 29 November 2018, the EU acquired a Permanent International Partnership with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The participation of the EU in this international body allows for closer cooperation on combating Holocaust denial and preventing racism, xenophobia and Antisemitism.
The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) is the largest ever EU-funded research initiative on the Holocaust. Together with partners in Israel and the US, it supports the research community by connecting and making available across Europe and beyond dispersed sources related to the Holocaust.
The new generation needs people, stories and places to keep the memory alive to make sure we keep the promise that we made at the end of the Holocaust – never again. EHRI is not only a trustful source for research in across the European Research Area and the globe. It is also a trustful source for remembrance and education about the Holocaust (Shoah) and supports the upcoming EU strategy for Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life.
Yesterday, January 26, 2022, the European Commission published the following statement by President von der Leyen ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day:
“On 27 January, we mark the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. We remember all those who survived and the millions of Jewish women, men and children as well as all other victims murdered by the Nazi regime. In many ceremonies across Europe and the world their names will be called, their lives remembered. This year marks also the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference, the meeting that sealed the fate of European Jews. In that meeting the Nazis planned to systematically search for Jews across Europe to annihilate the Jewish people. The Holocaust was a European disaster. Antisemitism led to this disaster. Antisemitism dehumanises the Jewish people. In Nazi Germany, this dehumanisation opened the door to the Shoah. We must never forget. On this day, we also look to the future. After the war, Europe was built upon the promise of peace. And yet, antisemitism is on the rise again in Europe. It threatens Jewish communities in Europe.”
The Commission put forward a strategy on combatting antisemitism and fostering Jewish life on 5 October 2021, to support EU countries and civil society in their fight against antisemitism. Holocaust Remembrance is an essential pillar of efforts to ensure that we never forget our history.
For the first time, on 27 January 2022, the European Commission will illuminate its headquarters, the Berlaymont building, with #WeRemember, joining the campaign co-organised by the World Jewish Congress and UNESCO in memory of the victims of the Shoah.
A European legislative framework ensures protection from violence, discrimination and expressions of hostility motivated by antisemitism and criminalises Holocaust denial and distortion across Europe.
To raise awareness and counter Holocaust distortion, the Commission has launched and continues to roll out the campaign #ProtectTheFacts together with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), UNESCO and the United Nations.
In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the Holocaust Remembrance (60/7) designated 27 January as the international commemoration day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. On 27 January 1945, the Allied Forces liberated the concentration and death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The Resolution urges every member nation of the UN to honour the memory of Holocaust victims and encourage the development of educational programs about Holocaust history, to prevent future acts of genocides. It calls for actively preserving Holocaust sites that served as Nazi death camps, concentration camps, forced labour camps and prisons.
On 21 January, the UN adopted a resolution aimed at combating Holocaust denial and urging member states and social media firms to help fight anti-Semitism.
More information
Statement by President von der Leyen – European Commission
International Holocaust Remembrance Day – European Commission
Remembrance, research and education about the Holocaust (Shoah) – European Commission
Parliament pays tribute to the victims of the Holocaust (2020) – European Parliament
2021 Holocaust Remembrance Week – United Nations
First ever EU strategy to combat antisemitism
Europe-Wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian regimes
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