The virulent antisemitism that led to the Holocaust is still rampant around the globe today, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder told participants at Monday’s solemn commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
In a fundamental way, a common thread links what happened at Auschwitz to the recent manifestations of Jew-hatred, including the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks on Israel: the age-old hatred of Jews, Lauder warned.
Antisemitism “had its willing supporters then, and it has them now. It was fed by the indifference of people who thought they were not affected because they were not Jewish,” he noted.
The event, which honored the memory of the victims, also highlighted the significance of Holocaust education and emphasized the unwavering need to combat antisemitism and hatred.
The WJC president, who serves as chair of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation as well, delivered his remarks alongside four Auschwitz survivors and Dr. Piotr Cywiński, director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum. Attendees at the event included 50 official representatives from more than 50 nations.
“These attacks are not just targeting Jews,” Lauder emphasized. “They are an attack on Judeo-Christian values, which are the bedrock of Western civilization.”
