Council of Europe commemorates victims of the Holocaust

"The Council of Europe is less than an hour from the Natzweiler-Struthof camp. Yet it stands for everything the Holocaust sought to destroy. The Council of Europe is a peace project built on a solemn pledge: never again. A peace built on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law."

These were the words of Secretary General Alain Berset, in front of the commemorative stele on the forecourt of the Palais de l'Europe, where wreaths honouring the victims of the Holocaust were laid in during the ceremony marking the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

"As Simone Veil said here at the Council of Europe: 'La Shoah ne devait avoir ni témoin ni histoire'. The Holocaust was meant to leave no witnesses, and no trace in history. As the era of witnesses ends, she urged us to think about how the Holocaust will be taught. That responsibility is now ours to carry forward.

"We must help younger generations grasp how a society can descend into such inhumanity. And give them the tools to resist disinformation, denial, and the manipulation of history. Antisemitism did not end in 1945. Nor did hatred that targets people for their faith.

"To remember the Holocaust is to refuse all forms of religious intolerance, here and now," emphasised the Secretary General.

Kindertransport survivor speaks

The commemoration of the International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust was also on the agenda of the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly, where Lord Alf Dubs who in June 1939 at the age of six escaped the Holocaust on a Kindertransport train from occupied Europe, recalled that journey and spoke of the importance of passing on the history of the Holocaust to young people:

"We have to make sure that the next generation understand it, because people like me will no longer be around - and it is important that the message goes on being spread to the next generation."

Political leaders at the ceremony

Parliamentary Assembly President Petra Bayr underlined that "We often hear calls to finally close this chapter of history - but history cannot be closed. We carry a shared obligation to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are translated into concrete political action today. Never again is not a symbolic phrase, it is a political commitment - to defend human dignity, to protect minorities, and to resist the erosion of democratic norms, wherever it occurs."

Moreover, the President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu stated: "Today we must ask ourselves honestly - are we so certain such a tragedy can never happen again? The world is on a slippery slope. … 'Never again' is not a promise that sustains itself. It is a responsibility we must renew, through our institutions, our choices, and our courage. Let us have the courage to act before remembrance turns into regret."

A video message by Meyer Stambler (Chief Rabbi of the Federation of

Jewish communities of Ukraine), statements by Anina Ciuciu (Romani and

Traveller Youth Collective ZOR, Roma and Travellers community,

France), Krystian Kamiński, (Unia Równości -Equality Union -LGBTI

community, Poland), Nicolas Laugel (regional delegate for eastern

France of the French Committee for Yad Vashem) and by the leaders of

the political groups of the Parliamentary Assembly were part of the

programme at the Chamber, which was concluded by the artistic

performance - My country, poem by Hanuš Hachenburg (1929-

1944), written in Theresienstadt, played by Rodéo d'âme (Tristan

Lescêne, cellist, and Marie Hattermann, actor).

Programme of the ceremony

Secretary General speech

PACE news: PACE remembers the victims of the Holocaust, and reflects on its lessons for today

Commissioner news: Holocaust Remembrance Day: paths of memory and action - preserving the past, protecting the future