Holocaust Memorial Observance 2026 - UN Chief Remarks | United Nations

Addressing the annual Holocaust memorial event in remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust, Secretary-General António Guterres today (27 Jan) grieved for the “six million Jews murdered just because they were Jewish,” and said, “the Holocaust is not only history. It is a warning. A warning that hatred, once unleashed, can consume everything.” Guterres said, that warning feels “more urgent than ever” as “antisemitism around the world is raging” and “Jewish communities live in fear.” The Secretary-General said, “this dark chapter of our common history reveals sobering truths. When those with power fail to act, evil goes unpunished. When the past is distorted, denied and weaponized, hatred and prejudice fester. When words become weapons, lies, conspiracies, the casual joke and the coded slur can grow until the unthinkable becomes policy and violence.” He said, “let us together pledge to stand against antisemitism and all forms of hatred — and against bigotry, racism and discrimination anywhere and everywhere.” The President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock, for her part said, “questioning the rights of some, simply for who they are, where they come from, or what colour their skin is all has the same end: dehumanization, which eventually spreads to all.” Baerbock, who is a former German foreign minister, quoted German pastor Martin Niemöller and said, “when they came for the Jews, I did not speak up, I wasn’t a Jew. When they came for the Catholics, I did not speak up. I was a Protestant. When they came for me, no one was left to speak up.” She said, “Never Again is not a slogan. It is a duty, a duty to speak up and to stand up, to defend the dignity and human rights—not of some—but of every member of our human family, everywhere, every day.” In his address to the gathering, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said, “unlike1941, today there is a different reality. We crashed and stopped Hamas's terror machine. We brought home. We brought home every hostage, every single one of them.” Removing a pin from his lapel, Danon said, “we waited 843 days. Today the pain finally comes off.” Evelyn Konrad, one of five Holocaust survivors who addressed today’s memorial, recounted the day her family was able to leave Hungary. She said, “in May 1939 we got the French visas. After my mother and I boarded the train in Budapest, I never saw my Hungarian family again. On the train, I was so excited because I’d soon see my beloved grandmother, my Omutti again. I also looked forward to walking on the familiar streets of Vienna. But outside the train station, Vienna looked grey, glum. As we crossed the bridge into Leopoldstadt, I heard the thunder of jackboots marching toward us from the Prater. I saw very few people on the Praterstrasse. Those I saw were hurrying, staying close to the walls of the old buildings. We crossed from the trolley to Omutti’s building. Two large women in dirndls approached us. Where they should have had sprigs of Alpine roses or flowers pinned to their dirndls, each one had a huge Hackenkreuz, swastikas. They marched toward us as if we were not there. It happened so fast: they pushed my beautiful, slender mother off the sidewalk into the street. I ended up with one foot on the sidewalk, one foot on the street. My mother held my hand tight. I tried to break my mother’s grip. I wanted to run after those two big women. They didn’t even look back. I wanted to bite them, to kick them, to scratch them. My mother dug her nails into my arm. Suddenly, I was afraid.” A UNESCO study published today indicates that over 77 percent of teachers in the European Union had encountered at least one incident of antisemitism between students at least once or twice. Over a quarter of teachers had witnessed nine or more of these incidents. Overall, on average, teachers had encountered five or six antisemitic incidents between students at their school. Secretary General full remarks: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statements/2026-01-27/secretary-generals-message-the-international-day-of-commemoration-memory-of-the-victims-of-the-holocaust Website: https://www.un.org/en/observances/commemoration-holocaust-victims-day


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