During the Second World War, humanity witnessed the brutal and senseless murder of over six million victims - Jews, Roma and Sinti and other people, based on their origin, or status. From the acts of unimaginable horror of the Holocaust, a seed for a brighter future was planted with the establishment of the United Nations, upon the founding principle of saving “succeeding generations from the scourge of war”.

79 years ago today, the death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated.

Yet, the irrational hatred of Jews that led to the Shoah has not disappeared. We still witness attempts to rewrite history, and forms of Holocaust denial, trivialization, or distortion of facts, which also encompasses its instrumentalization.

Jewish and other individuals and communities around the world continue to suffer intolerance, prejudice, violence, and discrimination.

Holocaust survival, Simon Wiesenthal said: “Learn from our tragedy. It is not a written law that the next victims must be Jews. It can also be other people. We saw it begin in Germany with Jews, but people from more than twenty other nations were also murdered”.

Today more than ever, we must reaffirm the importance of peace, tolerance, and coexistence.

As highlighted in the EU Strategy on combatting antisemitism and fostering Jewish life and in the recent joint Communication “No place for hate:  Europe united against hatred”, the European Union is fully committed to combatting antisemitism and hatred in all its forms, while promoting freedom of religion and belief for all.

The only way to prevent future atrocities is to ensure that past atrocities and their victims shall never be forgotten. We commend the call by the United Nation General Assembly about the importance of establishing educational programmes to remember the horrors of the Holocaust and prevent its reoccurrence.

The international community must work together to make “never again” a reality everywhere.