Today marks the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a Nazi German death camp and one of the most infamous symbols of the Holocaust. On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember those who were lost and honor those who survived.
Auschwitz was initially established as a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners in 1940. It quickly became a center for the mass extermination of Jews, Roma, and other persecuted groups during World War II. Over 1.1 million people were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, with over 90% being Jewish.
The United Nations urges every member state to honor the victims of the Holocaust on this day. Survivors gathered at Auschwitz-Birkenau to commemorate this somber occasion and share their personal connections to the Holocaust. Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff also traveled to Poland and Germany to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, visiting key sites such as Auschwitz-Birkenau.
We must never forget what happened during the Holocaust and continue to fight against antisemitism today. We must also remember that peace is fragile and can be shattered by war at any time if we do not take action against it now.
On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us remember those who perished in Auschwitz-Birkenau and honor those who survived with respect, dignity, and compassion.
My visit to "Seeing Auschwitz" in London recently was an enlightening journey through the horrific crimes committed by the Nazis that they tried to hide. The exhibition incorporated 100 photographs, sketches and testimonies depicting the German Nazi camp Auschwitz and the Holocaust, providing a visual journey into both world history, and more specifically this dark event. The photos proved incredibly powerful; they enabled viewers to gain insight lost in time - to look beyond the four edges of any given photograph and to confront what we're seeing by taking a closer look of each face depicted. It served as a timely reminder of corruption's consequences, but also acts as an educational opportunity that can help to ensure such tragedies never happen again.