January 27 marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 to commemorate the Jews murdered by the Germans during World War II.
The German Nazi camp Auschwitz-Birkenau claimed about 1.1 million victims out of a total of 1.3 million inmates during its nearly five-year existence. About 90% of them were Jews coming from all over Europe. At least 70 thousand Poles, 20 thousand Roma, 15 thousand Soviet POWs, and 10-15 thousand prisoners of other nationalities also died in the camp. The total number of Holocaust victims is estimated at nearly 6 million, a third of whom were children.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established on November 1, 2005, by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. The holiday not only honors those who were murdered but is also a call against any form of Holocaust denial. UN points out the need for education and remembrance to prevent such events in the future.
On #HolocaustRemembranceDay, the #OSCE calls for new forms of remembrance and education to fight back harder against #Antisemitism and build societies free from hate and prejudice. Read the ODIHR and @PLinOSCE statement: https://t.co/Dt4F82hY02 & watch our video below #WeRemember pic.twitter.com/eibYJ251dJ
— OSCE/ODIHR (@osce_odihr) January 27, 2022
The theme for this year’s commemoration at United Nations institutions is “Memory, Dignity, and Justice”. The anniversary commemorations and related educational programs focus on the plight of Holocaust survivors in the early years after the war as they reclaim their rights, history, heritage, and dignity.
Read more on un.org