![]() ![]() German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday evening called for the memory of Nazi war crimes to be kept alive. More than 15,000 survivors died in 2021, according to the Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority, a government department. January 27 was declared a legal day of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism in Germany in 1996.Įvery year, the number of remaining Holocaust survivors in Germany - and the living connection with one of modern history's greatest atrocities - continues to dwindle. Two songs of the Jewish resistance against the Nazi occupation in Eastern Europe were also sung. Music for the commemoration included pieces by two composers who were also sent to Theresienstadt, played by musicians from the Prague Opera. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as well as Bundesrat President Bodo Ramelow, were also among those present at the ceremony. A stance against xenophobia and against antisemitism." "Together with many others worldwide, we are taking a stance on remembrance of the Holocaust. "Our country bears a special responsibility the genocide of the European Jews is a German crime, yet it is also a past which is relevant to all," said Bas. "Thank you for making the incomprehensible comprehensible," he said.īundestag President Bärbel Bas gave a speech warning against historical revisionism and ethnonationalism. This voice - which shows the power of a human story to really get into people's and to communicate in such a poignant way." "You have described your memories of the Holocaust, and in doing so you have created a unique voice. Stories of lives not lived, stories of people who are no longer with us," said Levy, paying tribute to Auerbacher for her description of that period. "The 6 million Jews murdered are 6 million individual stories. ![]() "Keeping alive remembrance of the Holocaust is a difficult task that must be shouldered by each generation anew," said Levy, speaking of "often incomprehensible" statistics. "We are reminded of our duty to protect it at all costs." The president of the Israeli parliament, Mickey Levy, spoke about the need - within the walls of the historic Bundestag building - to remember the fragility of democracy. "This disease needs to be eradicated as swiftly as possible," she said. "There were also frequent deportations, mostly to Auschwitz."Īuerbacher, who made a career as a chemist despite suffering for years from illness because of her treatment during the war, also lamented what she described as a return of antisemitism in many parts of the world, including Germany. Rats, mice, fleas, lice, and bedbugs were our constant companions." Typhus was one of the worst dangers we faced. "There were frequent epidemics caused by the lack of sanitation and the overcrowded conditions we lived in. She described the horrific conditions at the camp, used as a transit facility for those who were sent to the gas chambers. GIving her speech, Auerbacher wore a butterfly broach to remember some 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered. "My parents and I were among the very few who survived." "I still have very clear memories of that dark time, a time of terror and hate," Auerbacher said.Īuerbacher, who has lived in the United States for the past 75 years, said she had been the youngest of some 1,100 people on the train to Theresienstadt. Speaking as a guest of honor, 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Inge Auerbacher told of her memories as a small child before she was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia at the age of 7 in 1942. ![]() It remembers all victims of the National Socialist regime, including the 6 million murdered Jews. The day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis' Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland, 77 years ago. ![]() German lawmakers gathered in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ![]()
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