In a statement concerning the present journey of Pope Francis to Cyprus, his clear words during his meeting with refugees in Nicosia, and his subsequent journey to Greece with his renewed visit to the refugee camp on Lesbos, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said in Berlin:

"In their hearts and in their thoughts, survivors of the Holocaust and the German concentration and extermination camps are feeling very close to Pope Francis at this time. They are following his journey to Cyprus and Greece with great interest and sympathize deeply with his spontaneous and clear words during his meeting with refugees in Nicosia.

Once again this pope is holding up a mirror to Europe with his words: A Europe that, in view of the desperation of refugees and the cold that they are facing at the borders and on the seas of Europe, is rapidly losing sight of its own history and trampling humanist values beneath its feet.

The fact that the pope keeps on spotlighting this ongoing human and political scandal for the world to see, is an important sign of hope for Auschwitz survivors particularly when remembering their own personal history and experiences."