On the occasion of the 76th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, Christoph Heubner, stressed in Berlin:

"On the occasion of the 76th anniversary of their liberation, Auschwitz survivors around the world are impressed, but also very concerned: On the one hand, they are grateful to see in how many different ways people around the globe are expressing their interest and empathy as they remember the survivors’ fate and that of their murdered fellow prisoners. In addition to this, and particularly at this time, the media are intensely covering the historical circumstances and the human tragedy associated with the concept of Auschwitz.



Nevertheless, in view of the growing right-wing extremism and anti-Semitic hatred that keeps flaring up around the globe, the survivors are profoundly concerned whether the democracies, their citizens and their politicians are seriously thinking beyond the remembrance ceremonies and are acutely aware of the current dangers and their challenges.



Auschwitz survivors see it as an absolute alarm signal that the people with a fascist mind-set are no longer denying Auschwitz, but are now glorifying and propagating Auschwitz as a project model.

Auschwitz survivors see it as an absolute alarm signal that not only in Germany are right-wing extremists active within state institutions, where they can freely propagate their hatred without coming up against immediate and unequivocal opposition from their superiors and colleagues.



Auschwitz survivors consider the time taken in the judicial pursuit of right-wing extremist offenders is often far too long. And they are asking themselves, whether all responsible people are acutely aware of the current threatening situation, not simply on remembrance days, but on a day-to-day basis – in view of the far-right movements mobilizing in the pandemic and the worldwide networking of hate perpetrators."