Parliament marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer spoke before Parliament on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
On 27 January, 77 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp, the European Parliament commemorated the victims of the Holocaust during special session in Brussels. The guest of honour was centenarian Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer.
In her opening speech, Parliament President Roberta Metsola said that the Holocaust Remembrance Day is about remembering crimes against humanity committed in the past, but also about the importance to speak up in the present and that there is still much to be done to free our society from hatred, discrimination and violence.
She recalled how the European project was a response to the horrors of the Third Reich, with the hope for a better future in a united Europe that shares values such as peace, fairness, openness and cooperation. “United in Diversity we speak up against Holocaust deniers, against conspiracy myths, against disinformation, and against violence of every kind that targets and singles out members of our communities. Because despite decades of effort, we have not yet done enough to combat discrimination.”
We must consciously act every day and in whatever we do to ensure that our communities are not marginalised by exclusion, hatred and indifference
After a musical interlude from Hungarian guitarist Ferenc Snétberger, the 100-year old Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer related how at the age of 21 she went into hiding in Berlin after her mother and brother had been deported to Auschwitz.
Several months later, she was captured and deported herself to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. There she met Adolf Friedländer, a former acquaintance from Berlin who would become her husband. Together they survived the dismal conditions of the camp until the liberation by Red Army troops in May 1945 and emigrated to the United States.
When her husband died in 1997, Margot Friedländer started to write about her life and, at the age of 88, returned to her native Berlin. Today, she still dedicates her time to bear witness to the crimes committed by National Socialism and to educate new generations.
I have come back to talk to you, to extend my hand to you, to ask you to become the witnesses that we cannot be for much longer
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, also spoke at the ceremony. Before closing the session, MEPs observed a minute of silence to honour the victims of the Holocaust. The ceremony was concluded with a musical performance by Raphael Wallfisch and Philippe Graffin.
The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust on January 27 was established by the United Nations in 2005 to commemorate the Holocaust and the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Find out more
- Press release: Parliament commemorates Holocaust victims (27 January 2022)
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Audiovisual materials
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#WeRemember: a clip about Holocaust Remembrance Day
