The European Parliament opened the plenary session of Wednesday 29 January with a solemn ceremony in memory of the six million victims of the Holocaust.
Opening the ceremony, President David Sassoli said: “Nazism and racism are not opinions, but crimes. Whenever we read in newspaper articles of acts of violence, attacks, or racist insults, we must consider these attacks addressed at each of us. They are attacks on Europe and on the values it represents.”
In her speech, Liliana Segre, Italian senator for life and survivor of Auschwitz, said: “I am extremely moved to be here in the European Parliament. I saw all of the coloured flags at the entrance of so many countries that are here together in a spirit of brotherhood where people speak to each other and look at each other. This wasn’t always the case.”
In her closing address Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Europe will not remain silent. We will fight antisemitism at all levels. We will never allow the Holocaust to be denied. We will fight with all our strengths against discrimination, racism and exclusion.”
Following the speeches, members observed a minute of silence. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, surviving member of the Women’s orchestra in Auschwitz, also attended the ceremony.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated on 27 January to mark the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp in 1945. The term Holocaust refers to the mass murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.
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