International Holocaust Remembrance Day

artskvortsova /depositphotos.com Every year on January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed. On this day in 1945, soldiers of the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated the remaining prisoners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where over 1.1 million people were killed, including approximately 960,000 Jews. In total, the Holocaust claimed the lives of a third of the Jewish people – more than 6 million. This figure is enshrined in the verdicts of the Nuremberg Trials (1945-46) following the court proceedings against the leaders of Nazi Germany. International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly. Resolution No. 60/7 of November 1, 2005, states that ‘the Holocaust, which led to the extermination of one-third of the Jewish people and countless members of other nationalities, will always serve as a warning to all people of the dangers inherent in hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice…’. The resolution to establish International Holocaust Remembrance Day was initiated by Israel, Canada, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, and co-authored by more than 90 other states. This year, International Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place against the backdrop of the tragedy that occurred in Israel on October 7, 2023. In the massacre orchestrated by HAMAS, more than 1,400 people were killed. This is the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust and has led to a sharp rise in anti-Semitism, including in countries of Western civilization and culture. The slogan ‘From the river to the sea Palestine will be free’ and direct calls for the genocide of Jews under the guise of freedom of speech were deemed legitimate in university campuses. Employees of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) welcomed and even participated in the killings and abductions of Israelis. The International Court in The Hague has taken up a lawsuit by South Africa against Israel on charges of Palestinian genocide. These and other pieces of evidence suggest that public consciousness is still permeated with anti-Semitism and all statements by the UN and other international organizations about the importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust have become empty declarations today.