In Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, paid tribute to Hans-Jochen Vogel:

“Survivors of the Holocaust and Auschwitz survivors around the world are saddened by the death of Hans-Jochen Vogel. They bid farewell to him with a sense of grief and gratitude. The horrors experienced by Jewish families and all of the other prisoners at the hands of the perpetrators in the German concentration and extermination camps, was a constant source of burning pain in Hans-Jochen Vogel’s life and a ceaseless driving force for the philanthropy in his political commitment. In the eyes of the survivors, Hans-Jochen Vogel subsequently became one of the most convincing people in German politics and a German patriot whom they trusted. His engagement for the International Youth Meeting Center in Auschwitz, and the Memorial there, deepened the bond, as did his initiative for the founding of the association Against Oblivion – For Democracy. In these days of mounting anti-Semitism, extreme right-wing violence and populist hatred, we will especially miss the voice of Hans-Jochen Vogel. When confronting these dangers, he never lost his faith in humanity, nor his hope that democracy in Germany would be preserved and protected. The fact that Germany has gained such a respected place in the world today can also be attributed to the reliability and credibility of this one particular person.”