What is the message from Auschwitz today?
Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. Only gradually did the world realise the true extent of the Nazis' crimes. Auschwitz, where the Nazis murdered at least 1.1 million people, has come to epitomise the Holocaust. Poland marked the anniversary with a commemorative ceremony attended by international high-ranking guests and Auschwitz survivors. Europe's press reflects.
Responsibility shirked for many years
Looking back, Kurier criticises Austria's sluggishness in confronting its role in the Holocaust:
“Around 700,000 Austrians were members of the NSDAP, small and large-scale mass murderers right at the forefront - yet it was more than 30 years before discussions about guilt and responsibility finally began among the Austrian population. And a shameful 50 years passed before the 'Austria Pavilion' in Auschwitz - where Austria presented itself as the 'first victim of National Socialism' - was finally renovated to reflect changing sensibilities. ... Are we, the children, the grandchildren of this generation of exterminationists still jointly responsible? Are we, the descendants, still burdened with guilt? Yes - when we begin to forget.”
A complete reversal
The world has learned nothing from history, Le Temps rails:
“The West is torn apart in polemics over whether a Nazi salute was shown at the inauguration of the most powerful man in the world, while in Germany the 'firewalls' against the far right are collapsing without resistance. In a world full of war, violence, racism and isolation, another fact is particularly striking: neither Putin nor Netanyahu are taking part in the commemorations in Auschwitz. Both are being prosecuted under international law. ... The former is rewriting history in the name of an alleged fight 'against Nazism' in Ukraine, while the latter is using the 'never again' inherited from the Second World War to justify the – alleged – crimes in Gaza.”
Unparalleled in its horrors
There can be no comparisons with other conflicts and wars when it comes to commemorating the Holocaust, The Daily Telegraph insists:
“There is something unique about antisemitism. No other racism is so persistent or so virulent. Some of the laments yesterday were against war. But the Holocaust, though facilitated by the opportunities for murder that conflict brings, was not an act of war. It was the ultimate iteration – the 'final solution' – of a political theory that the Jews are the source of evil in the world. ... Nowadays, the Holocaust is often hijacked as a rhetorical tool to describe other conflicts.”
Lack of awareness among the young
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung diagnoses a lack of knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust among young people - especially those with a migration background:
“According to a new survey in the German news magazine Stern, one in five young people are not familiar with the term 'Auschwitz'. For a large proportion of Muslims who have immigrated in large numbers Auschwitz belongs to a distant past that has nothing to do with their own reality. They bring impressions from their countries of origin that make them see Israel - and Jews in Germany - as mortal enemies. We see the results on the street, in the media and in the crime statistics: imported antisemitism, hostility towards Israel, uncontrollable Islamism.”
A challenge for the school system
Teachers must be better prepared to deal with the topic, Libération demands:
“In Europe, where only ten percent of the world's Jews now live – compared to 60 percent in 1939 – antisemites are more on the offensive than ever, invigorated by the massacre in Israel on 7 October and the immediate reflex to blame the Jews for the terrible consequences for the Palestinians. Teachers are often ill-prepared to tackle the subject in class, because there is a lack of training and the questions are numerous. ... The aim of today's commemoration is above all to draw lessons from Auschwitz for the present.”
When modern technology meets primitive instincts
In De Morgen, historian Rolf Falter is appalled by the combination of base instincts and efficiency:
“The lesson of Auschwitz is that as soon as you choose violence and war, you unleash our most primitive instincts. These are then inevitably reinforced with all the technology and knowledge at the disposal of modern civilisation. In the end, you only create murder and destruction on an unimaginable scale. Auschwitz was, crudely put, unthinkable without the context of a highly developed society. That is, in every respect, a terrible realisation.”
Fascist rhetoric is flourishing
Remembering the Holocaust is more important today than ever, The Guardian admonishes:
“The far right is on the rise across Europe, including in Germany. Last Monday the world's richest man, Elon Musk, gave what were widely seen to be two Nazi salutes as he celebrated the US presidential inauguration. ... President Trump himself has adopted fascist rhetoric in railing against 'vermin' and accusing immigrants of 'poisoning the blood' of the country. Antisemitism and other forms of bigotry never vanished. Now they flourish. True believers are emboldened; others go along with them from ambition or indifference. 'Functionaries', suggested [the author] Primo Levi – another survivor of the death camp – are more numerous and therefore more dangerous than monsters.”
Jews as a seismograph of social development
The treatment of Jewish people is a measure of how democracy is faring, Der Tagesspiegel argues:
“There is good reason to wonder whether age-old resentments have not survived to this day: the ongoing perception of Jews as alien. This is how it increasingly seems to the Jews of Germany today. Fear is growing in their communities. Our willingness to account for how things stand shows to what extent our society accepts plurality and diversity, embraces equality and refrains from pinning labels on others. Can we create unity by excluding others? Seen in this light, the Jews are a seismograph of our social development.”
Criticism of Israel often antisemitism
Agnieszka Markiewicz and Simone Rodan-Benzaquen from the American Jewish Committee write on Onet.pl:
“It is the Jewish state that is the ultimate guarantor of 'never again'. However, this role has frequently made Israel a target of today's antisemitism, which is often disguised as criticism of the political process. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) defines antisemitism as, among other things, 'the denial of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, for example by claiming that the existence of the state of Israel is a racist endeavour'. ... The denial of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, the de-legitimisation of their state and the distortion of the memory of the Holocaust aimed at denigrating Israel are forms of antisemitism that must be universally condemned.”
Never stop remembering
The danger of a new Holocaust has not been banished, Kristeligt Dagblad warns:
“From 1933 to 1945, death was the 'master from Germany', but death, conceived as barbarism and evil, cannot be ascribed to a single nationality or ideology. There have been many other genocides throughout history, but the Nazi version is the clearest warning of what can happen when evil is given free rein. We must do all we can to remember this and never allow it to happen again.”