On the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and marking the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, President Rivlin, the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, issued a joint statement saying:
76 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the greatest symbol of Nazi evil, we stand united in our shared commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting anti-Semitism. We pay tribute to the survivors, who represent the triumph of humanity over hate and whose inner strength inspires us all. We renew our promise that their legacies will live on and that their testimonies will forever stand as a wall against those who would deny the past. Through initiatives such as the Lonka Project, which focuses on these heroes and their stories, we will work together to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust and the sacred vow of ‘Never Again’ are passed down to our children, our children’s children and all future generations.
The Lonka Project gathered 250 photographers from over 25 countries, and sent them to capture various perspectives of the lives of remaining Holocaust survivors. The project named after Dr. Eleonora (Lonka), born in Poland in 1926. As a young woman, Lonka survived five concentration camps – Raghun, Plaszow, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen and Terezin. Lonka passed away in Israel in 2018.