International Holocaust Remembrance Day
January 27 is annually observed as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day in 1945, soldiers of the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated the prisoners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where more than 1,100,000 people died, including about 960,000 Jews. During the Holocaust, a third of the Jewish people perished – more than 6 million people. This figure was officially confirmed in the verdicts of the Nuremberg Tribunal (1945-46), held over the leadership of Nazi Germany. The International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution № 60/7 adopted on November 1, 2005, states that “the Holocaust, which destroyed a third of the Jews and a vast number of people of other nationalities, should serve as a reminder of the threats associated with hatred, fanaticism, racism, and prejudice.” The initiators of this resolution were Israel, Canada, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, and the USA, and more than 90 other countries supported it as co-authors.
This year, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed against the backdrop of tragic events that occurred in Israel on October 7, 2023. During the attack organized by HAMAS, more than 1,400 people were killed. This became the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust and triggered a surge of anti-Semitism, including in Western countries. The slogan “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” and open calls for the destruction of Jews, masquerading as freedom of speech, became acceptable in university campuses. UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) staff not only approved but also participated in the attacks and kidnappings of Israelis. The International Court of Justice in The Hague began considering a lawsuit by South Africa against Israel with accusations of Palestinian genocide. These facts show that anti-Semitism remains a part of public consciousness, and statements by the UN and other international organizations about the need to remember the victims of the Holocaust sound today like empty words.
