International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

"Denying historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust, is just not acceptable. Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of any State or people. I would like to see this fundamental principle respected both in rhetoric and in practice by all the members of the international community."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

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“What exactly was the difference? he wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?

John Boyne, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas 

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“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

Elie Wiesel

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“Summer came.
For the book thief, everything was going nicely.
For me, the sky was the color of Jews.

When their bodies had finished scouring for gaps in the door, their souls rose up. When their fingernails had scratched at the wood and in some cases were nailed into it by the sheer force of desperation, their spirits came toward me, into my arms, and we climbed out of those shower facilities, onto the roof and up, into eternity's certain breadth. They just kept feeding me. Minute after minute. Shower after shower.”

Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

Photo by Jolanta Dyr - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0