International Holocaust Remembrance Day at NATO Headquarters
28.01.2021
"The painful truth about the Holocaust must not die. We should make every effort to educate the next generations about the past so that it doesn’t repeat itself. As we stand here, as NATO Allies, as nations and as humans, we all bear responsibility not to let it happen again. Never again." - said Ambassador Tomasz Szatkowski during a ceremony at NATO Headquarters commemorating the victims of the Holocaust.
On January 27, at NATO Headquarters, a ceremony was held on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau, co-organized by the Polish and Italian Permanent Representations to NATO. The partners of the event were the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau and the World Jewish Congress.
During the ceremony, the Deputy Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Mircea Geoana and the Permanent Representatives of Poland and Italy to NATO offered remarks. Ambassador Szatkowski emphasized the role of Poland in passing on the truth about the extermination of Jews and the tragedy of World War II to the next generations.
After the war, there was a wide understanding, and is till today, that Poland will keep the memory of the atrocities during World War II. Preserving the memory and the truth about the Holocaust, its victims and perpetrators, for the next generations, without watering down, and without political correctness is the only way to prevent it from happening again - said the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to NATO.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana drew attention to the fact that NATO was built on the ruins of World War II with the aim of maintaining peace.
We also remember the hope and solidarity that were born out of those darkest days. The hope for a better and safer world. A world where hatred and antisemitism have no place. And where people from different nationalities, backgrounds and religions can defend human dignity for all. And safeguard fundamental values, such as the right to life, to justice and to freedom. NATO was created to uphold these values - he emphasized in his speech.
To mark the 76. anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, an exhibition "The Auschwitz Experience in the Art of Prisoners" was inaugurated. The exhibition, made available by the Museum Auschwitz, will be on display at NATO Headquarters for two weeks.
During the speeches, photos from last year's celebration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, provided by the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, were also presented.
The event was attended by the Permanent Representatives of NATO countries, representatives of partner countries and the leadership of the North Atlantic Alliance. At the end, all those gathered posed for a group photo, holding the inscriptions #WeRemember.
The event was broadcast live on the TT account of the Polish Delegation: https://twitter.com/PLinNATO/status/1354391483269439492?s=20
Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Poland to NATO
