The Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi extermination camp, described by Hannah Arendt as a “rupture from civilization”, still stands as grim evidence of the Holocaust. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, attended ceremonies at the site in Poland marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.
On this solemn occasion, President Metsola took to X and shared the following message:
“80 years after its liberation, as we gather at this place of horror to honour those who perished and those who survived, we renew our commitment to fighting hatred. We remember every name, every story, and every life lost in the Holocaust,” she wrote.
The Holocaust was the systematic murder of at least six million Jews, along with millions of others, including Roma, disabled individuals, and political prisoners, carried out by the Nazi regime during World War II. The largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, saw over 1.1 million victims from 1940 to 1945.
This annual remembrance helps make it a call against antisemitism, prejudice, and all forms of hatred. Metsola’s visit and poignant words emphasize that remembrance and education will continue to be crucial so these atrocities will never happen again.
In addition to President Metsola’s visit, the European Parliament will hold a commemorative session on 29th January in Brussels. The session will feature an address by Corrie Hermann, daughter of Hungarian-born cellist and composer Pál Hermann, who was murdered by the Nazis in 1944. A performance of Pál Hermann’s concerto on his original Gagliano cello will follow. The ceremony will conclude with a rendition of Maurice Ravel’s “Kaddish.”
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