On 27 January 2025 the world observed Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former Nazi concentration and extermination camps near Krakow, Poland, in 1945. It was the 20th such observance, following the UN General Assembly resolution that established the “International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust” in 2005 “Reaffirming that the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice”. Notable commemorations took place in the UN General Assembly Hall in New York and on the ground in Poland.
The message is clear: what happened at those concentration and extermination camps during World War II should never happen again, to any person or group, in Europe or anywhere. The commemorations of this most horrible crime in humanity’s recent history brought together survivors, activists, as well as politicians and other dignitaries, all offering their variations of the message of the Day and recommitting to absolutely respecting it, as they should. Current politics were not left aside, though, and participation was not universal, certainly in Europe, at the actual crime scene, now a hallowed ground for pilgrimage.
As widely announced on European media, the Russians had not been invited because of their continuing invasion of Ukraine, while the Ukrainians were offered a special place in the ceremonies. One cannot ignore the irony that 80 years ago, when the concentration camps were taken over by allied forces fighting against Nazi Germany, it was the Soviet Army, in which Russians and Ukrainians were serving together, which liberated Auschwitz and Birkenau. Instead of this being an opportunity to co-exist again, as in previous years, to recommit to “never again” participating in or tolerating genocide, and to starting to build a path towards ending the current major armed conflict in Europe, this occasion was used to score public relations points in a battle for the hearts and minds of the European and international public. One wonders what the rest of the world thought while watching this latest example of Europe’s persistent tribal divisions that have led to two world wars and may have already started a third one.
Despite politicians’ efforts to the contrary, listening to the survivors speak one could feel the universality and inclusiveness of their message. They did not want to see what happened to them, their families and friends be repeated against anybody, Jews or non-Jews, Roma or non-Roma, LGBT or other. For most that would also include the Palestinians in Gaza, who by the time of the Auschwitz-Birkenau ceremonies had started on the long walk back to their mostly destroyed homes in the North of Gaza. Was any thought spared for them and any reference made as part of the ever-valid message of Holocaust Remembrance day? Should they have not been there too, and should they have not cried together with the Holocaust survivors, in an expression of deep pain and shared regret, in a history-changing moment of mutual atonement and forgiveness, for a new beginning in a spirit of peaceful co-existence?
The Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025 was not the only solemn and symbolically powerful moment whose moral potential was wasted in recent months. The Paris Olympics in July-August 2024 could have been used to achieve a ceasefire, even if temporary, in the numerous conflicts around the world, as per the Olympic Truce initiative that many pay lip service to but refuse to comply with or support. There was also the annual UN Day observance, on 24 October 2024, if anybody still cares about it…; and more.
If the powers that be wanted to, they could find many opportunities to change the tide from exclusion and confrontation to inclusion and reconciliation. Apparently, though, the latter two are not in vogue. Inclusion and reconciliation do not strengthen the image and vote-gathering capacity of leaders, do not mobilize the worst instincts among the people, do not move the arms industry, do not allow the testing of new weapons and cyber warfare tools, do not allow the looting of each other’s people, territory and wealth… This is the sorry state of human affairs, with Europe most unfortunately playing a disconcertingly zero-sum game once again.
Dr Georgios Kostakosis Executive Director of the Brussels-based Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS). He has been extensively involved in global governance, sustainability and climate-related activities with the United Nations and beyond. The starting point for the work of FOGGS is the need for a new Grand Narrative for a fair, human-centred and inclusive globalization. One of its projects is the UN2100 Initiativefor UN reform, which includes the proposal to establish a Global Resilience Council to effectively address non-military threats to human security like climate change and pandemics.
