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	January 31, 2020

75 Years after the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, WJC President Ronald S. Lauder honors Holocaust survivors at memorial site on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

In keynote remarks in front of dozens of heads of state and nearly 200 survivors at the Auschwitz memorial site, WJC President Lauder urges stronger Holocaust education, challenges world leaders to combat antisemitism. Watch President Lauder's full address to the commemoration ceremony here.

OVERVIEW | 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

A WJC delegation led by President Lauder was in Poland this week to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Click below for a full overview of events and activities, including videos and addresses.

Auschwitz survivors warn of rising antisemitism 75 years on | The Associated Press

About 200 Auschwitz survivors, many of them elderly Jews and non-Jews who traveled from Israel, the United States, Australia, Peru, Russia, Slovenia and elsewhere, were in attendance at the 75th anniversary commemoration on the memorial site. Many lost parents and grandparents in Auschwitz or other Nazi death camps during World War II, but were joined by children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. “Do not be silent! Do not be complacent! Do not let this ever happen again — to any people!” WJC President Ronald S. Lauder said.

At Auschwitz, Holocaust survivors plead ‘Never Forget’ | The New York Times

Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, said: “The attacks on Jews, the killings, the vicious slanders have only grown worse, and they have even spread to my country. Words are not enough. Political speeches are not enough. Laws must be passed. Severe, tough, real laws that will put these hatemongers away in prison for a long, long time. Children must be educated and know where the hatred of Jews leads.”

Auschwitz, 75 years later: A race against time | Deutsche Welle

A visit to Auschwitz is a visit to the cusp of comprehension. That is the death camp's enduring power and its greatest challenge. As the world marked 75 years since Auschwitz was liberated, both aspects came to the fore. WJC President Ronald S. Lauder said: "When you think of the Holocaust, you think of one word: Auschwitz."

World leaders honor survivors beneath the gates of Auschwitz | New York Jewish Week

The ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp caps an emotional ‘reunion’ for some of the last eyewitnesses. During the ceremony, WJC President Ronald S. Lauder told survivors: "I can’t imagine the strength you needed to survive, and you did.”

Auschwitz was liberated 75 years ago. Today, antisemitism is reviving | Newsweek

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder told Newsweek ahead of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz: "Antisemitism is the world's oldest form of hatred, and the sad truth is that we are witnessing a frightening revival unraveling before our very eyes."

Op-ed by WJC President Ronald Lauder in CNN: 75 years after Nazi death camp was liberated, the world pauses to remember

“As eyewitness survivors age and pass away, we must focus on combating the passage of time's impact on remembering historical events. It's our collective responsibility to counter the dissemination of outright lies that threaten to dim the reality of the Holocaust's undeniable hatred.”

Op-ed by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder in JTA: Holocaust survivors will soon be gone. Now it’s up to us to speak out against hate.

“As a Jew, I am frightened by how the world looks in 2020. The rate of increase of antisemitic crimes in the United States and abroad should frighten every citizen, everywhere, whether they live in a community with a large Jewish population or not. We all have a responsibility to sound the alarm in order to prevent further violence and vitriol because left unchecked, we know all too well the horrors that threaten. We must prevent history from repeating itself."

I thought I understood the Shoah. A visit to Auschwitz changed that | Editorial by Andrew Silow-Carroll in The New York Jewish Week

"On my first-ever visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, I finally understood how physically overwhelming the site is... If you’ve made the pilgrimage, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t, you might think I am sounding naive, having come to some sort of overdue epiphany about the Holocaust that shouldn’t have escaped me as a Jewish adult."

WATCH | WJC President Ronald S. Lauder addresses commemoration ceremony for 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

At the January 27 official International Holocaust Remembrance Day memorial ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ambassador Lauder presented keynote remarks on behalf of the Pillars of Remembrance, private donors who support the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and its mission to preserve the authenticity of the memorial site.

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder on CBS | 75 years after Auschwitz, survivor returns to death camp for first time

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder sat down with CBS This Morning to discuss the recent rise in antisemitism and why it is as important as ever to listen to survivors’ stories. The network also talked with Holocaust survivor David Marks upon his first visit back to Auschwitz-Birkenau since being liberated 75 years ago.

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder on PBS | The lessons of Auschwitz, 75 years after its liberation

World Jewish Congress President Lauder tells PBS NewsHour that just as antisemitism slowly increased before the Holocaust, we are currently seeing a slow but steady rise of antisemitism around the world. The network also met with Auschwitz- Birkenau survivors David Wisnia and Tova Freidman upon their return to Auschwitz-Birkenau since liberation.

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder on Fox News | "Auschwitz is the strongest memorial we have"

WJC President Ronald Lauder, sits down with Fox News to talk about the importance of preserving the history of the former Nazi concentration camp 75 years after liberation.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder in BILD | "Auschwitz is the symbol of the Holocaust"

WJC President sits down with Germany’s BILD for an exclusive interview to talk about the importance of Holocaust education and remembrance. President Lauder explains that one of the tragedies of the Holocaust is the fact that we will never know what the victims could have accomplished.

Marking 75 years since liberation of Auschwitz, WJC urges world to say: #WeRemember

The #WeRemember campaign culminated Monday evening, as WJC President Lauder delivered his keynote address at the official commemoration ceremony on the site of the former death camp. The campaign urged social media users to post a photo of themselves holding a “We Remember” sign, together with a #WeRemember hashtag. Launched on 13 January in the lead-up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the #WeRemember campaign was trending on Twitter on Monday as high as fourth in the world, and first in Germany.

WATCH | The 2020 WJC #WeRemember campaign for International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Education is critical in the fight against ignorance and misinformation -- specifically Holocaust denial and distortion. Through www.AboutHolocaust.org, a comprehensive new online resource created by the World Jewish Congress in partnership with UNESCO, we plan on sharing indisputable facts about the Holocaust with those around the world who need to hear it.

Here are some of the best Twitter tributes for Holocaust Remembrance Day | The Forward

“As eyewitness survivors age and pass away, we must focus on combating the passage of time's impact on remembering historical events. It's our collective responsibility to counter the dissemination of outright lies that threaten to dim the reality of the Holocaust's undeniable hatred.”

Photo expo dedicated to Holocaust survivors on display at UN in Geneva, with support of WJC

The “Lest We Forget” exhibit features the work of German-Italian photographer and filmmaker Luigi Toscano, whose collection of approximately 100 portraits of survivors of Nazi persecution will be on display at the UN Palais as well as the Place des Nations until 31 January. The photo installation accompanies the commemorative events around the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on 27 January.

WJC’s Russian and EuroAsian affiliates unveil Candle of Remembrance in Jerusalem, honoring the heroes and victims of the Leningrad siege

The Candle of Remembrance is an 8.5-meter obelisk symbolizing life torn by the "flames of war” that consumed the souls of its victims. The monument was designed as a collaborative effort of Russian and Israeli architects, who sought to express that the tragedy of the siege of Leningrad and the tragedy of the Holocaust were inextricably linked.

Marking Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in Rwanda, WJC Jewish Diplomat urges world to stand up against hatred

In her address to the ceremony, WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps Chaya Singer noted that both the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide began with the hateful rhetoric and what she termed “seeds of hate left to grow.” Singer condemned in her remarks the inaction of certain governments to fight antisemitism and called for authorities around the world to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

Commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day in Toronto, WJC Jewish Diplomat urges world to stand up against antisemitism online

In his address to the ceremony, WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps member Zack Silverberg spoke about the rise of antisemitic rhetoric on social media and praised WJC’s #WeRemember campaign for not only bringing awareness to the Holocaust but taking an active role in silencing hatred. Silverberg called for every kind-hearted person to stand up against all forms of bigotry and hatred, including rhetoric, because "what starts with words, doesn't end with just words."

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