Letter of the Survivors to the participants of the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day 2016
"Express your outrage at injustice and at the complacency of those who allow injustice to happen."
Auschwitz survivors pass on letter to the guests at the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland, where around 1.5 million young participants from around the globe were gathering in July 2016. The Auschwitz survivors are deeply moved by the young people’s great interest in visiting the Memorial to inform themselves about their fate and that of their families. As a sign of their recognition and affection towards the young people, the survivors are passing on the enclosed letter to them. It conveys a sum of their memories and their life experiences from Auschwitz to the present day. Read the letter
27.1.2015: Roman Kent
Deeds! Deeds as well as thoughts are crucial.
Roman Kent, President of the International Auschwitz Committee, directed his words at the official polish ceremony of commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz directly to the leaders of the world: "We must all Remember! For, if you, the leaders in the world will remember, and to teach others to remember, then the Holocaust and other atrocities like Darfur, Biafra, Kosovo, as well as attacks as the present one in Paris, will have no place on the face of the earth. But to remember is not enough – Deeds! Deeds as well as thoughts are crucial." Read more
27.1.2015: Kazimierz Albin
From the very first day, there is an ongoing struggle for preserving human dignity
Kazimierz Albin, Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee and survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp, was one of the first polish inmates who arrived in Auschwitz. He said on the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz: "The madness of the Übermenschen – overpeople is opposed by the stronger individuals. From the very first day, there is an ongoing struggle for biological survival, for delivering as many lives as possible from death, for preserving human dignity." Seine Rede auf Englisch: Read more
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Speech given by UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon
2011 – Mr Ban Ki-moon: "Above all, it is a day to speak out … to speak out against those who would deny the Holocaust, who would diminish it or "explain" it away." Read more
“The Survivors’ Bequest”
Preserve Remembrance – Conserve authentic Places – Assume Responsibility
2009 – ten presidents of organizations of survivors of the holocaust signed a joint statement: the Survivors' Bequest. "We ask young people to carry on our struggle, against Nazi ideology and for a just, peaceful and tolerant world, a world that has no place for ant-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and right-wing extremism." Read more