Welcome to the International Auschwitz Committee!
The International Auschwitz Committee is an association of Auschwitz survivors and their organizations. The International Auschwitz Committee unites organizations, foundations and Holocaust survivors from 19 countries. The office of the IAC is located in Berlin. The current President of the International Auschwitz Committee is Auschwitz survivor Dr. Eva Umlauf, Munich.
- Dr Eva Umlauf, President of the International Auschwitz Committee, at the IAC’s 18th General Assembly in Auschwitz. Holocaust survivors, their descendants and representatives of Auschwitz foundations from twelve countries gathered from 22 to 25 September 2026. Photo: Martin Korczok
27.9.2026
22–25 September 2026 in Auschwitz: 18th General Assembly of the International Auschwitz Committee
‘We will not remain silent’ – Auschwitz survivors and their descendants from twelve countries discuss remembrance, anti-Semitism and the defence of democracy.
Photos of the 18th General Assembly
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Welcome address by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (pdf)
- The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Monasse T/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS.COM via IMAGO
27.9.2026
‘Remembering is the responsibility of the whole of Europe’ – Ursula von der Leyen pays tribute to the International Auschwitz Committee
Opening address given by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to the participants at the 18th General Assembly of the International Auschwitz Committee in Auschwitz:
- Invitation to the Future Workshop on September 3, 2026, in Berlin.
19.8.2026
INVITATION TO THE FUTURE WORKSHOP ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2026
Building Bridges—The Estates of Eyewitnesses as Cross-Generational Memory in the European Context
- Erfurt, 4 July 2026: Counter-demonstration against the AfD’s federal party conference in Erfurt. Photo: IMAGOxMatthiasxGränzdörferx
4.7.2026
Eva Umlauf’s reaction to the AfD party conference in Erfurt: ‘Turn the demonstrations into a celebration of democracy’
Speaking in Munich about today’s AfD party conference in Erfurt and the counter-demonstrations taking place there, Dr Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stressed:
- Lena Sarah Carlebach, president of the ICBD and granddaughter of Emil Carlebach, a former Buchenwald prisoner and resistance fighter, at a memorial ceremony on April 12, 2026, marking the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald by U.S. troops on April 11, 1945. Photo: IMAGO/Paul-PhilippxBraun
3.7.2026
Auschwitz and Buchenwald Committees Call for: Immediate Proceedings to Ban the AfD
In connection with the AfD National Party Convention in Erfurt on July 4 and 5, 2026, the International Committee for Buchenwald, Dora, and Commando Camps (ICBD) endorses the demand issued by the International Auschwitz Committee on February 11, 2026, and calls on the Federal Government, the Bundestag, and the Bundesrat to take action.
- Dr Eva Umlauf presents her new book in Giessen ‘Genau so fängt es an - Ein Appell’. Photo: Eva Oertwig/SCHROEWIG News & Images for IAC Berlin
30.6.2026
The President of the International Auschwitz Committee speaks about remembrance, responsibility and the fight against anti-Semitism.
Dr Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor and one of the last eyewitnesses, is deeply concerned, because politicians are doing too little to combat rampant anti-Semitism. And because society tolerates this hatred.
- In memory of Marian Turski, the Polish-Jewish Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, who passed away in Warsaw on 18 February 2025 at the age of 98 and would have turned 100 tomorrow, 26 June. Photo: Eva Oertwig, SCHROEWIG News & Images for IAC Berlin
25.6.2026
‘Do not be indifferent!’ – IAC commemorates the 100th anniversary of Marian Turski’s birth.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Marian Turski, a Polish-Jewish Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stressed in Berlin:
- Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee, with a group of apprentices from Volkswagen AG in Kassel, Braunschweig and Salzgitter, and Polish vocational school students who have been involved in conservation work at the Auschwitz Memorial for a week and are taking part in a seminar organised by the International Auschwitz Committee. Photo: IAC
14.6.2026
Auschwitz survivors commemorate the first prisoners: ‘They helped many people not to give up’
Today, Auschwitz survivors around the world are commemorating the first transport of prisoners, which arrived at the newly established German concentration camp at Auschwitz on 14 June 1940.
- Grzegorz Braun has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2024. The far-right politician is facing charges in several criminal cases, including Holocaust denial. Photo: IMAGO/Beata Zawrzel
11.6.2026
Survivors welcome Kraków ruling against Grzegorz Braun’s Auschwitz lies
In a radio interview in July 2025, the well-known Polish anti-Semite and Member of the European Parliament, Grzegorz Braun, stated, amongst other things, that ‘ritual murder is a fact, whereas for example, Auschwitz with its gas chambers, is unfortunately a fabrication’.
- June 1–4, 2026: IAK Presidium at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Buenos Aires. From left: Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee; Marta Malá, Prague, member of the IAK Presidium; Hannah M. Lessing, Vienna, IAK Vice President; Frédéric Crahay, Brussels, member of the IAK Presidium. Photo: IHRA
5.6.2026
Auschwitz remains our mission: IAC strengthens remembrance work in Buenos Aires
From 1 to 4 June 2026, a delegation from the International Auschwitz Committee took part in the plenary session of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Buenos Aires.
- ‘Sorry, there are no jews allowed in our hotel.’ Israeli tourists received this message from the ‘Zum Hirschen’ hotel in the village of Lam, Bavaria. Image: Screenshot/Israeli Consulate-General
3.6.2026
‘Haven’t they learned anything at all there?’ – Auschwitz survivors stunned by anti-Semitic incident in Lam
Survivors of German concentration and extermination camps around the world are listening to this message of anti-Semitic hatred from Lam in Bavaria with outrage and sadness. Speaking in Munich, Dr Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stressed:
- May 20, 2026: IAK Executive Vice President Christoph Heubner gave North Rhine-Westphalia Minister President Hendrik Wüst and his delegation a tour of the “Gerhard Richter Birkenau” exhibition pavilion, which features works from the “Birkenau Cycle” by Gerhard Richter, recipient of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Prize. Photo: State of North Rhine-Westphalia / Marcel Kusch at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Buenos Aires. From left: Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee; Marta Malá, Prague, member of the IAK Presidium; Hannah M. Lessing, Vienna, IAK Vice President; Frédéric Crahay, Brussels, member of the IAK Presidium. Photo: IHRA
24.5.2026
Auschwitz remains a litmus test for German democracy.
Minister-President Hendrik Wüst visits Auschwitz-Birkenau and the International Youth Centre in Oświęcim
- Railway tracks leading through the entrance gate of the former German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Photo: Karl Lehmann for IAK Berlin
19.5.2026
‘Whenever the world looks at Germany it will be impossible to ignore Auschwitz’ – survivors welcome Minister-President Wüst’s visit
Speaking in Munich on the occasion of the Minister-President’s visit to Auschwitz, Dr Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said:
- Auschwitz survivor Albrecht Weinberg has died at the age of 101 years
12.5.2026
Auschwitz survivor Albrecht Weinberg has died at the age of 101 years
Following the death of Auschwitz survivor Albrecht Weinberg, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said in Berlin:
- Dr Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, with her book ‘Genau so fängt es an – Ein Appell’ (This Is Exactly How It Begins) – An Appeal. Photo: IAK Berlin
11.5.2026
Book launch with Dr Eva Umlauf on 21 May – A wake-up call against forgetting
On 21 May 2026, in collaboration with Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus, the International Auschwitz Committee invites you to a moving evening at the KulturBühne in Berlin. The highlight of the evening will be the book launch by Dr Eva Umlauf, hosted by Shelly Kupferberg.
Photos from Dr. Eva Umlauf's book launch on May 21, 2026, at the KulturBühne in Berlin
- 8 May 1945: Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs the Wehrmacht’s unconditional surrender at the Red Army headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst. Photo: Lt. Moore (US Army); restored by Adam Cuerden via Wikimedia Commons
7.5.2026
81 years since liberation from the National Socialist regime and the end of World War Two
Speaking during a visit to Hamburg ahead of tomorrow’s 81st anniversary of the liberation from Nazi terror and the end of the Second World War, Dr Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stressed:
- The historian Gérard Wettstein in front of the Swiss Federal Archives in Bern. This is where the Mengele file is stored. Wettstein fought for their release for many years. Photo: Franziska Rothenbühler
5.5.2026
Swiss authorities finally grant access to Mengele file
The Swiss authorities have finally granted interested historians access to documents on Josef Mengele which have been stored in the Swiss Federal Archives. This decision breaks the 25-year-long unlawful blockade imposed by the Swiss intelligence service. Commenting in Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said:
- Photographer Sven Ellerbrock’s photo book ‘Auschwitz, Fußnoten’ (Auschwitz, Footnotes) documents sites within the Auschwitz concentration camp system, with a focus on former satellite camps used for forced labour. The book is being published to accompany an exhibition at the St. Nikolai Memorial in Hamburg. Photo: Sven EllerbrockPhotographer Sven Ellerbrock’s photo book ‘Auschwitz, Fußnoten’ (Auschwitz, Footnotes) documents sites within the Auschwitz concentration camp system, with a focus on former satellite camps used for forced labour. The book is being published to accompany an exhibition at the St. Nikolai Memorial in Hamburg. Photo: Sven Ellerbrock
28.4.2026
‘The truth lies in the footnotes’ – A remembrance project to prevent silence
It is often not the grand narratives of history that move us most deeply. It is the quiet voices, the unfinished sentences, the memories in the margins – the footnotes of a crime against humanity. This is precisely where photographer Sven Ellerbrock’s project ‘Auschwitz Footnotes’ on the Startnext platform comes in.
- Budapest, Hungary, 12 April 2026. Péter Magyar at the election party of Tisztelet és Szabadság Párt (TISZA) on the evening of the general election. Photo: IMAGO xdtsx News Agency x dts_114728
13.4.2026
A sign of hope for Europe: Auschwitz survivors praise Hungary’s break with Orbán’s far-right policies
For over 16 years, Auschwitz survivors and their families have watched with pain and outrage as democracy has been eroded in Hungary, as the experiences of Hungarian Holocaust survivors have been excluded from public discourse and school curricula, and as Nazi sympathisers have been rehabilitated in the public sphere.
- April 7, 2026, London, United Kingdom: The Wireless Festival website states that this year’s festival has been canceled because Kanye West—who now goes by the name Ye—has been barred from entering the United Kingdom by the British Prime Minister and the British government due to his past anti-Semitic remarks and highly controversial behavior. The rapper released a song titled “Heil Hitler” and sold a T-shirt featuring a Nazi swastika on his official website, though it was quickly removed. Image: IMAGO xVukxValcicx
12.4.2026
No Room for Holocaust Denial and the Glorification of Hitler: Auschwitz Survivors Thank the United Kingdom and Warn Poland and Italy
Regarding upcoming performances by the American rapper Ye—Kanye West—in Poland and Italy, and the British government’s decision to deny Kanye West entry, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, emphasized during a visit to the Auschwitz Memorial:
- Duke Franz of Bavaria and Dr Eva Umlauf at a dinner on 7 April at his residence in Nymphenburg Palace, Munich. Photo: IAK Berlin
9.4.2026
United in remembrance, united in warning: Duke Franz of Bavaria pays tribute to Eva Umlauf and her message to younger generations
On 7 April, Prince Franz of Bavaria invited Dr Eva Umlauf to dinner at his residence, Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, to get to know Eva Umlauf better, as well as her work as President of the International Auschwitz Committee and her new book ‘Genauso fängt es an’ (This Is Exactly How It Begins).
- Dr Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, is presenting her new book, entitled ‘Genau so fängt es an - Ein Appell’ (This Is Exactly How It Begins – An Appeal), at the Leipzig Book Fair. Photo: Eva Oertwig/SCHROEWIG News & Images, image editing: KGS for IAC Berlin
19.3.2026
IAC President Dr Eva Umlauf is presenting her new book at the Leipzig Book Fair (19–22 March 2026), Hall 4, Stand A101
Dr Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor and President of the IAC, is presenting her new book, entitled ‘Genau so fängt es an - Ein Appell’ (This Is Exactly How It Starts – An Appeal). It draws on the observations of Auschwitz survivors in everyday political life and their growing concern at rising right-wing extremism, anti-Semitic hatred and aggressive populist rhetoric in many countries around the world.
- Leer celebrated Albrecht Weinberg’s 101st birthday with a special gift: the premiere of a film about his life. On stage in front of the screen were documentary filmmakers Jesco Denzel (left) and Güner Balci, alongside Mayor Claus-Peter Horst and producer Matthias Miegel. The Holocaust survivor enjoyed the moving evening together with his partner Gerda Dänekas and more than seven hundred guests. Photo: Axel Pries, image editing: KGS for IAC Berlin
8.3.2026
Marking Albrecht Weinberg’s 101st birthday – A life of remembrance and humanity
Holocaust survivor Albrecht Weinberg celebrated his 101st birthday on 7 March 2026. In his home town of Leer in East Frisia, more than seven hundred people gathered for the occasion to show their appreciation for the town’s honorary citizen and to honour him.
- Tricia Tuttle, the festival director, at the closing ceremony of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on 21 February 2026. Photo: IMAGO/APress
26.2.2026
No to hatred and defamation: The Berlinale must not become a stage for this
Commenting in Berlin on today’s scheduled meeting of the Supervisory Board to discuss developments at the Berlinale, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said:
- Marian Turski, who was born 26 June 1926 als Mosze Turbowicz in Druskieniki and died 18 February 2025 in Warsaw, was a Polish journalist of Jewish descent, a Holocaust survivor and chairman of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, and since mid-June 2021 President of the International Auschwitz Committee. Photo: Jesco Denzel, Firefly-image processing: KGS-IAK Berlin
18.2.2026
A year without Marian Turski – Auschwitz survivors around the world remember his call to prevent forgetting
On 18 February 2026, Auschwitz survivors from around the world will commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Marian Turski. The Auschwitz survivor, Polish-Jewish eyewitness and long-time president of the International Auschwitz Committee passed away on 18 February 2025.
- Harold and Maude (1971): Harold (Bud Cort) is fascinated by death, and loves nothing more than spending time in cemeteries. While attending funerals, he meets a woman who is the first real person in his life. Maude (Ruth Gordon) is 79, about sixty years older than him. Photo: IMAGO, 05KPAARTHAR1 UnitedArchives08168, KGS Berlin
12.2.2026
Bud Cort has died aged 77 – How the cult film Harold And Maude makes Holocaust remembrance visible in a flash
It was one of the first feature films to focus on the Holocaust and the life of a survivor. Hal Ashby, the American director, made his film Harold and Maude in 1971.
- The Dutch author Cees Nooteboom. Photo: Hpschaefer www.reserv-art.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons, Firefly KGS Berlin.
12.2.2026
The Dutch author Cees Nooteboom has died
Auschwitz survivors around the world are filled with gratitude as they bid farewell to Cees Nooteboom. They felt very close to his world view and his literary works.
- Dr. Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee. Photo: Eva Oertwig / SCHROEWIG News & Images
11.2.2026
International Auschwitz Committee presses for an immediate decisive move and a motion to ban the AfD now.
In light of present developments surrounding the AfD, Dr Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee, stressed in Munich:
- Professor Rita Süssmuth in the Bundestag, 2021. Photo: Stella v. Saldern on behalf of the German Bundestag. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
2.2.2026
Auschwitz survivors worldwide pay tribute to Rita Süssmuth—a steadfast advocate for remembrance and democracy.
It is with utmost respect and deep gratitude that Auschwitz survivors around the world are bidding farewell to Professor Rita Süssmuth. When hearing of her death, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the Committee, stated in Berlin:
- In the run-up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) has published new data on Jewish Holocaust survivors living worldwide. Image: Claims Conference
30.1.2026
New survey shows around 197,000 Holocaust survivors still living worldwide
According to the latest surveys, there are around 197,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors worldwide. This is according to data collected by the Jewish Claims Conference and published in the run-up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- The new book by Dr. Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee: “This is how it begins – An appeal.”
22.1.2026
Invitation to Dr Eva Umlauf’s book presentation on 20 March 2026
The new book by Dr Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee: ‘This is exactly how it begins – An appeal.’
- Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right) at Bellevue Palace with Dr Eva Umlauf, President of the International Auschwitz Committee (centre), and on the left, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee. Photo: © Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, Steffen Kugler.
10.12.2025
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomes Dr Eva Umlauf, President of the International Auschwitz Committee, on her inaugural visit.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the new president of the International Auschwitz Committee and Auschwitz survivor Dr Eva Umlauf during her inaugural visit.
- 30 November 2025, Landsberg - A stage full of young people at the Liberation Concert in Landsberg: Youth Chamber Orchestra, Project Theatre Group, Grand Choir, and the Mateh Asher Big Band. Patron: Dr Eva Umlauf, President of the International Auschwitz Committee. Photo: Saskia Pavek, Merkur.de
4.12.2025
Have hope: International Auschwitz Committee honours the Liberation Concert in Landsberg under the patronage of IAC President Dr Eva Umlauf.
Landsberg am Lech, 30 November 2025 – It is with deep gratitude and utmost respect that the International Auschwitz Committee honours this year’s Liberation Concert in Landsberg am Lech.
- Trainees from Volkswagen in Wolfsburg and Volkswagen Sachsen in Zwickau, Chemnitz, and Dresden, who learned in depth about the escape story of the two prisoners during a project at the Auschwitz Memorial, created a memorial plaque that will commemorate the names and stories of Ernest and Raphael. Photo: Ralph Köhler
4.12.2025
Memorial ceremony for Auschwitz prisoners Ernest Smilowski and Raphael Esrail in Ruppertsgrün.
Ruppertsgrün, 19 November 2025: The International Auschwitz Committee, together with German and Polish trainees from Volkswagen AG, the representative of the French ambassador in Berlin, Julien Acquatella, and other guests, unveiled a memorial plaque bearing names during a ceremony in the church of Ruppertsgrün and at the grave of Ernest Smilowski.
- On 25 November 2025, Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) presented the new 95 cent special stamp in Berlin in honour of Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer. The stamp bears her motto: ‘Don't look at what divides you. Look at what unites you. Be human, be reasonable.’
4.12.2025
The German Federal Ministry of Finance has issued a special stamp in honour of Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, who passed away in May at the age of 103.
- Dr Eva Umlauf, Holocaust survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee, calls on members of the relevant business associations to make their position clear and: Help protect and shape democracy. Photo: Eva Oertwig/SCHROEWIG News & Images for IAK Berlin
20.11.2025
Holocaust survivors call on business associations: “Help to protect and shape democracy.”
Following the Association of Family Entrepreneurs, the German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses has now also questioned the firewall against the AfD and, as the second major business association, wants to rethink its relations with the AfD. In Munich, Dr Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee, stressed:
- Symbolic image of the scheduled sale by the Felzmann auction house in Neuss. Letters from prisoners in German concentration camps, perpetrator documents, and personal writings and documents relating to the persecution and humiliation of individuals will go under the hammer on 17 November in Neuss. Image: Gemini/KGS for IAK Berlin.
15.11.2025
Sale scheduled for 17 November by Felzmann auction house in Neuss
Felzmann auction house in Neuss is advertising a sale it intends to carry out on 17 November entitled ‘The System of Terror’ Vol II 1933-1945.
- 3D-reconstruction of the gas van assigned to SS-Sonderkommando VIIa. Image: Cameron A. Munro, Tiergarten4Association e.V.
10.11.2025
Tiergarten4Association release a 3D Reconstruction of the Nazi Gas Van Assigned to SS-Sonderkommando VIIa in April 1942 in the Occupied Soviet Union.
Berlin, Germany, November 10th 2025 – Today Tiergarten4Association e.V., in association with the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, in Berlin, releases a short film and lecture using its 3D-reconstruction of the Nazi gas van assigned to SS-Sonderkommando VIIa in the occupied Soviet Union in April 1942.
- Plaque on the Old Town Hall in Munich in remembrance of the Nazi pogroms of 9 November 1938. Photograph: Evergreen68, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
8.11.2025
Commemoration day tomorrow, 9 November, marks the 87th anniversary of the nationwide Nazi pogroms on that night in 1938, and 9 November as a ‘decisive day’ for all Germans.
In a speech marking tomorrow’s commemoration of the 87th anniversary of the Nazi pogroms on 9 November 1938, as well as 9 November being a ‘decisive day’ for all Germans, Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee, emphasized in Munich:
- Invitation to Christoph Heubner's book presentation on October 30 in Budapest on the occasion of Éva Fahidi's 100th birthday.
28.10.2025
Invitation to Christoph Heubner’s book presentation on 30 October in Budapest on the occasion of Éva Fahidi’s 100th birthday.
On 22 October 2025, the Hungarian-Jewish Auschwitz survivor Éva Fahidi would have been 100 years old. To mark this occasion, the Éva Fahidi Prize will be awarded for the first time on 30 October in Budapest. The prize was established by renowned conductor Adam Fischer, a member of Éva Fahidi’s family, and Eva’s partner Andor Andrasi. The International Auschwitz Committee is also one of the supporters and sponsors of the prize. It has been established in honour of Éva Fahidi, who lost 49 relatives during the Holocaust, including her parents, grandparents, and sister.
- October 16–19, 2025: IAK Presidium Meeting in Munich. Photo: IAK Berlin
27.10.2025
IAK Presidium Meeting 16-19 October 2025, in Munich.
Delegates from Israel, Poland, Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Germany attended the meeting of the Presidium of the International Auschwitz Committee. The event took place in Munich from 16 to 19 October and opened with a meeting with Bavarian Minister of State for International and European Affairs Eric Beisswenger at the Bavarian State Chancellery.
- Symbolic image: The hand of a Holocaust survivor with tattooed prisoner number holds the hand of a young Palestinian. In the background a candle burns brightly between the Star of David and the Palestinian flag – a sign of remembrance, empathy and hope for peace. Image: ChatGPT/KGS IAK Berlin
6.10.2025
Two years after 7 October 2023: Remembrance, solidarity and hope for peace
Around the globe, survivors of the Holocaust are commemorating their fellow sufferers in Israel, whose world was once again torn apart on 7 October 2023 by the terrorist acts of Hamas.
- Dr. Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor, on a lecture tour in Ireland—a powerful appeal against forgetting and for responsibility in the present. Image: Dr. Eva Umlauf
30.9.2025
Dr. Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee, on a lecture tour in Ireland
At the invitation of Irish colleges and universities, Eva Umlauf, Auschwitz survivor and president of the International Auschwitz Committee, will be giving lectures and readings in Dublin, Galway, and Limerick from October 6 to 10. The lecture tour is supported by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.
- IAK Greetings for the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah 2025 (September 23-24, 2025). Image: Sokor - Freepik.com, image editing: KGS IAK Berlin
23.9.2025
Rosh Hashanah 2025
We wish all survivors and all our friends around the world, especially during these days: A happy and peaceful New Year: Shana Tova!
- The Flanders Festival Gent has decided to cancel the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra's concert on 18 September 2025. That is when the orchestra was scheduled to perform in Ghent together with its future chief conductor Lahav Shani. It was to be one of the artistic highlights of the festival. Image: Screenshot https://www.gentfestival.be/en/event/munich-philharmonic-conducted-by-lahav-shani
18.9.2025
Dark day for culture in Europe
On 18 September, after the board of directors of the Flanders Festival in Ghent had decided that the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and especially its conductor Lahav Shani, would not be performing at the festival as planned today, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stated during a visit to the Auschwitz Memorial:
10.8.2025
“Like a second catastrophe” – Holocaust survivors in Israel feel abandoned by Germany
In Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, gave a statement on the current situation of Holocaust survivors in Israel and the recent decisions by the German federal government regarding its stance on Israel and arms exports to Israel:
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch in Traun, Austria. She spoke at a concert featuring music by the Auschwitz Girls’ Orchestra. Photo: PumpingRudi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
16.7.2025
100th birthday of Holocaust survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch on 17 July in London
Speaking in Berlin on the 100th birthday of Auschwitz survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said:
- Berlin, 1 July 2025: Speech by the President of the International Auschwitz Committee, Dr Eva Umlauf, at the award ceremony for the 2025 Fritz Bauer Study Prize for Human Rights and Contemporary Legal History at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV). Photo: Screenshot from the BMJV video recording.
2.7.2025
Award of the Fritz Bauer Study Prize for Human Rights and Contemporary Legal History
Speech by the President of the International Auschwitz Committee, Dr Eva Umlauf, at the award ceremony for the Fritz Bauer Study Prize for Human Rights and Contemporary Legal History on 1 July 2025, at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV):
- Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria. Photo: IMAGO/Wolfgang Maria Weber
2.7.2025
Munich decision shakes confidence in judicial system
Commenting on the decision by the Munich Administrative Court in the case of Charlotte Knobloch’s right-wing extremist bodyguard, Auschwitz survivor and President of the International Auschwitz Committee Dr Eva Umlauf stressed:
- Berlin, Germany, June 24th 2025 – Today Tiergarten4Association e.V. publishes its pioneering book: Engineered for Mass Murder – The Nazi Gas Vans: 1939-1945, including, for the first time, fifteen verifiable photographs of a gas van. The author Cameron A. Munro, is able to authenticate and prove from surviving documents and witness testimonies that these fifteen photographs are of a gas van which utilized combustion engine exhaust gas to kill. Image: Cameron A. Munro, Tiergarten4Association e.V.
24.6.2025
Tiergarten4Association e.V. publishes pioneering book: Engineered for Mass Murder - The Nazi Gas Vans: 1939-1945
Berlin, Germany, June 24th 2025 – Today Tiergarten4Association e.V. publishes its pioneering book: Engineered for Mass Murder – The Nazi Gas Vans: 1939-1945, including, for the first time, fifteen verifiable photographs of a gas van.
- During a school educational trip, four boys are seen standing in front of the entrance to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp memorial and showing the white power salute often used in the neo-Nazi scene. One of the young right-wing extremists uploaded the scene to his Instagram story. Photo: The Times, Instagram
18.6.2025
Expulsion from school after white power salute in Auschwitz
During a visit to the Auschwitz Memorial, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on the right-wing extremist gestures of pupils from Greifswald during their visit to the Auschwitz Memorial and the current reactions and debates on the subject:
- Berlin, 31 May 2025: Today in Berlin, the Presidium of the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC) elected Dr Eva Umlauf as the new President of the International Auschwitz Committee. Dr Umlauf is a German-Jewish paediatrician originally from Slovakia, a psychotherapist and Auschwitz survivor. She succeeds the Polish-Jewish journalist and Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski, who died on 18 February 2025. Photograph: Eva Oertwig/SCHROEWIG News & Images
31.5.2025
Auschwitz survivor Eva Umlauf elected as President of the International Auschwitz Committee.
At a meeting of the presidium of the International Auschwitz Committee in Berlin today, the Slovakian-born German-Jewish paediatrician, psychotherapist and Auschwitz survivor Dr Eva Umlauf was elected as the new President of the International Auschwitz Committee. She succeeds the Polish-Jewish journalist and Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski, who died in Warsaw on 18 February.
- Karin Prien, Federal Minister of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, calls for compulsory visits to concentration camp memorials for school students. Photo: IMAGO/Revierfoto
22.5.2025
Education Minister Prien calls for compulsory visits to concentration camp memorials for school students.
Parallel to follow-up work on an Auschwitz Memorial project with German and Polish trainees from Volkswagen AG, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee commented in Emden, Lower Saxony, on the Education Minister's proposals:
- Dr h.c. Margot Friedländer, née Bendheim. Honorary citizen of Berlin, Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. 5 November 1921 − 9 May 2025. Pictured with Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at the State Representation of Lower Saxony in Berlin on 23 January 2025. Photo: Eva Oertwig / SCHROEWIG News & Image
9.5.2025
Holocaust survivors pay tribute to Margot Friedländer who has died aged 103.
On receiving the news of the death of Margot Friedländer, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stated in Berlin:
- Berlin, 8 May 2025: German Bundestag commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.From left: Anke Rehlinger, Friedrich Merz, Julia Klöckner, Frank Walter Steinmeier, Elke Büdenbender and Prof Dr Stephan Harbarth at the German Bundestag’s commemoration ceremony in Berlin. Photo: Imago/Matthias Gränzdörfer
8.5.2025
Commemorating 80th anniversary of VE Day
For survivors of the Holocaust, 8 May brought the certainty that those who had humiliated them and their families for many years, persecuted them and deported them to concentration and extermination camps, had now finally been defeated and deprived of power.
- The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD as “right-wing extremist”. Image: imago images/Christian Ohde, Collage: KGS IAK Berlin
5.5.2025
AfD classified as extreme-right. What Holocaust survivors now expect from the federal government.
In Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on the classification of the AfD as "right-wing extremist" by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the expectations of the new German government:
- 20 April 2025 – Vatican City. Pope Francis gives the Urbis et Orbi blessing from St Peter’s Basilica balcony on Easter Sunday..Following the blessing the Pope greeted the crowds on St Peter’s square from the Popemobile. Photograph: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
21.4.2025
Auschwitz survivors throughout the world are bidding farewell to Pope Francis
On the death of Pope Francis, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, paid tribute in Berlin:
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, August 1935. Image: dietrich-bonhoeffer.net, Collage: KGS IAK Berlin
8.4.2025
80th anniversary of the murder of the protestant theologian and resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer on 9 April 1945 in Flossenbürg concentration camp
Holocaust survivors around the globe are now honouring the memory of the German theologian and resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was murdered at Floßenbürg concentration camp on 9 April 1945, two weeks before it was liberated. Adolf Hitler gave the explicit order himself.
- Auschwitz survivor Liliane Esrail, Paris 2011. Photo: Michèle Déodat
22.3.2025
Invitation to the exhibition opening on 27 March 2025 at 7 pm
Michèle Déodat and Christoph Heubner have met with Holocaust survivors for many decades. They engage in conversations about the past that never fades and, in their conversations, the survivors reveal glimpses of their murdered relatives, who will never grow old.
- Holocaust survivor Albrecht Weinberg with the Federal Cross of Merit 2017. Photo: Badmanontour, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
6.3.2025
Holocaust survivor Albrecht Weinberg will be 100 years old on 7 March
Speaking in Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee congratulated Albrecht Weinberg on his100th birthday:
- Marian Turski, Auschwitz survivor, journalist and President of the International Auschwitz Committee, died in Warsaw on 18 February 2025 at the age of 98. Marian Photograph: Eva Oertwig, SCHROEWIG News & Images for IAC Berlin
18.2.2025
The International Auschwitz Committee mourns the death of its president, the Jewish-Polish Auschwitz survivor and journalist Marian Turski.
Marian Turski was born in 1926. He was imprisoned with his family in the Lodz ghetto as a teenager and deported from there to Auschwitz. He was 20 years old when he was liberated, in his own words more dead than alive, following the death march from Auschwitz to Theresienstadt. Speaking in Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee, paid tribute to Marian Turski as follows:
- 9 February 2024: Gerhard Richter Museum Birkenau with Gerhard Richter cycle “Birkenau”. Photograph: Dominik Smolarek, MDSM
9.2.2025
Auschwitz survivors congratulate Gerhard Richter on his 93rd birthday and thank him for his remembrance work
Today is the birthday of artist Gerhard Richter. Speaking in Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee, congratulated the artist as follows:
- Today (29 January) one week after the knife attack in Aschaffenburg, the Bundestag discussed a stricter migration policy. After the heated debate, a vote was held on Friedrich Merz's so-called five-point plan, among other things. The result: the Bundestag voted in favour of the demands for a drastic tightening of asylum policy. The FDP and AfD had previously signalled their support for the motion. The SPD, Greens and Left rejected it. Image: WDR Aktuell via YouTube
29.1.2025
"A fatal mistake" – Holocaust survivors concerned about political developments in the German Bundestag
Commenting on today's situation in the German Bundestag - the hour of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and the subsequent debate on the possible joint vote by the CDU and AfD - Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stated in Berlin:
- 27 January 2025, Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial: Commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. Photograph: Heiko Lossie, VW employee
27.1.2025
Remembrance ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial on the 80th anniversary of liberation.
Berlin/Auschwitz, 27 January 2025 - On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, the International Auschwitz Committee commemorated the millions of victims of the National Socialist’s systematic murder programme and called for responsibility for the future.
- Protesters take part in the demonstration “Sea of lights against the shift to the right”, photographed on 25 January 2025 in Berlin. Photo: Maurizio Gambarini/FUNKE Foto Services/IMAGO
25.1.2025
80 years after Auschwitz: Demonstrations send a powerful message strengthening the firewall against right-wing extremism.
Commenting on today's demonstrations against right-wing extremism and the stability of the “firewall” in Germany, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, emphasized:
23.1.2025
Remembrance ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
On 23 January 2025, the International Auschwitz Committee held a remembrance ceremony at the Lower Saxony State Representation in Berlin to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz extermination camp.
Video recordings of the memorial ceremony can be found here:
Photos of the event can be found here:
Photo gallery 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
Speech by Marian Turski on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
- This photo was taken from inside the camp in February or March 1945 after the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The upper third shows the railway gatehouse complex that was built in 1943. It extends through the entire image. In the exact centre stands the gatehouse tower with the open entrance. In the right-hand section another opening can be seen. This was intended for motor vehicles. The track passing through the main gateway that then divides via switches into three separate tracks. At the side the ramp can be seen. This is where the new prisoners arrived and were selected. Metal and enamel tableware lies scattered in the foreground. Similar to the ground, these items are covered with snow. Photograph: Stanisław Mucha creator QS:P170,Q9342630, Auschwitz swavesey, public domain, details on Wikimedia Commons
19.1.2025
80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz
In January 2025, Auschwitz survivors around the world will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation. The International Auschwitz Committee will be opening the worldwide commemoration of those murdered as well as the survivors in the German capital Berlin. It was in this city that Auschwitz was planned and systematically organized.
