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Archive Events 2020

 
January 2020
23.01.2020

75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz: “Born in Auschwitz”

Archive Announcements 2020

 
January 2020
08.01.2020

International Auschwitz Committee honours the pianist Igor Levit

As a result of current events the International Auschwitz Committee is honouring the pianist Igor Levit with the Statue B - the "Gift of Remembrance".
February 2020
20.02.2020

Hanau: nowadays anyone can take Auschwitz into their own hands.

Commenting on the murders in Hanau, Hessen, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee stressed:
07.02.2020

Erfurt and Berlin: Democracy is under pressure from the right

Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are following the political developments in Erfurt and Berlin with great interest. After the events in Thuringia, they are grateful that especially in Germany the immense political outrage and spontaneous actions of many citizens have...
06.02.2020

Herr Höcke is making the government in Thuringia

Commenting on the state premier elections in Thuringia, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee stated in Berlin:
06.02.2020

Thuringia: complete failure through ambition, opportunism and political blindness

On the day after the democratic parties in Thuringia completely failed in the confrontation with the right-wing extremists in the state parliament, due to ambition, opportunism and political blindness, the politicians are experiencing a huge loss of respect and credibility well beyond Germany, and...
03.02.2020

Proposal from Poland: Nobel Peace Prize for Marian Turski

Following the speech by the Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski marking the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 2020, an initiative has nominated the 93-year-old Auschwitz survivor and Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee for the Nobel Peace Prize 2020.
March 2020
29.03.2020

Nie żyje polski kompozytor Krzysztof Penderecki: oświetlał ciemności oraz piękno świata

W związku ze śmiercią polskiego kompozytora Krzysztofa Pendereckiego Christoph Heubner, wiceprzewodniczący Międzynarodowego Komitetu Oświęcimskiego, podkreślił w Berlinie:
12.03.2020

The extreme right-wing of the AfD, Der Flügel is being observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: “An encouraging and important signal”

In view of the current growth of right-wing extremist threats in Europe, Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are gretaly relieved to know that Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution has now placed the right-wing extremist faction of the AfD, Der Flügel...
06.03.2020

Before the eyes of the EU: Orban removes books by the writer and Auschwitz survivor Imre Kertesz from the curriculum in Hungarian schools

Auschwitz survivors are angry and shocked at the continuing consolidation of dictatorial trends that are being promoted in Hungary by Viktor Orban. Whilst in Europe the dangers and threats to European societies by extreme right-wing and racist groups and parties are becoming increasingly evident,...
02.03.2020

Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust: Opening of the Vatican archives long overdue

Auschwitz survivors around the world are welcoming the opening of the Vatican archives, the conclusions concerning Pope Pius XII’s attitude towards the Holocaust, and the participation of the Catholic Church in aiding Nazi perpetrators to escape from Germany to South America via so-called rat...
April 2020
29.04.2020

Igor Levit: "My concert is a gesture of profound respect and gratitude"

Statement by pianist Igor Levit introducing his house concert on 29 April 2020:
27.04.2020

29 April: House concert by Igor Levit – a message to the survivors. Joint action by the pianist Igor Levit and the International Auschwitz Committee

09.04.2020

Samoskarłowacanie się UE: gościnny komentarz MKO w gazecie „taz“

Ocaleni z Holocaustu na Węgrzech i w innych krajach europejskich od dawna z przerażeniem i oburzeniem śledzą wydarzenia polityczne związane z Viktorem Orbanem. Trwała destabilizacja demokracji na Węgrzech i zatruwanie klimatu społecznego przez otwarte manipulacje propagandy, wykorzystujące stare...
08.04.2020

75. rocznica wyzwolenia Buchenwaldu w dniu 11 kwietnia 2020 r.: Honorowe obywatelstwo miasta dla Evy Fahidi i Ivana Ivanjiego

Ocaleni z Oświęcimia i Buchenwaldu na całym świecie z wielką radością i uwagą przyjęli gest Weimaru nadania honorowego obywatelstwa miasta Węgierce żydowskiego pochodzenia, ocalonej z Oświęcimia i Buchenwaldu Evie Fahidi, oraz Serbowi żydowskiego pochodzenia, ocalonemu z Oświęcimia i Buchenwaldu...
May 2020
22.05.2020

The film The Euphoria of Being, with Eva Fahidi, wins the Audience Award in Munich

In the Hungarian film The Euphoria of Being, the Hungarian-Jewish Auschwitz survivor Eva Fahidi meets her alter ego, the young dancer Emese Cuhorka. During the deeply moving process of increasing closeness, dialogue, combined movements and dance, the 94-year-old Eva Fahidi portrays her memories of...
19.05.2020

Armbands, Stars of David, Auschwitz analogies: Deceptive comparisons at ‘hygiene demonstrations’ are outrageous and wrong

Holocaust survivors are becoming increasingly disturbed by images of so-called hygiene demonstrations, where demonstrators are drawing on Nazi symbols and contents to attract attention and describe their supposed persecution in the current situation. The slogan displayed in Freiburg “Vaccination...
11.05.2020

Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are growing in the debate surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic: “Once again it’s the Jew’s fault”

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, made a statement concerning the growth of conspiracy theories in the debate surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic:
07.05.2020

The Auschwitz survivor Dorota Flug has died: She had trust and confidence that, based on the knowledge of their own responsibility, the people in Germany would develop a realistic and grateful awareness of their own liberation

Auschwitz survivors around the globe are deeply saddened and are mourning the death of another companion, a witness of the times and a wise friend. Dorota Flug died on 1 May in Jerusalem aged 94, just a few days before the international day of remembrance for 8 May 1945. The people in Germany have...
05.05.2020

6 May 2020 − Opening film at the Munich Documentary Film Festival: Eva Fahidi, Auschwitz survivor from Budapest "The Euphoria Of Being"

Founded in 1985, the Munich Documentary Film Festival has meanwhile gained worldwide recognition. 121 films from 42 countries are being screened this year from 6 to 24 May during the festival’s 35th edition. The films will be shown via streaming on the Internet where tickets are available for the...
02.05.2020

On the death of the French Auschwitz survivor Liliane Badour-Esrail: "Without Liliane the world has become a little darker."

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, made the following statement after receiving news of the death of the French Auschwitz survivor Liliane Badour-Esrail:
June 2020
23.06.2020

A good day for democracy: The Neo-Nazi group ‘Nordadler’ has been banned as ‘confirmed right-wing extremist’

Commenting on the decision of the Federal Interior Minister to ban the ‘Nordadler’ group, and the decision of the Berlin Administrative Court on the ‘Identitäre Bewegung’ (identity movement), Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stated:
19.06.2020

Inverted red triangle on Facebook: Donald Trump’s activities are despicable and without sense of history

Responding in Berlin to the American president’s election campaign team employing a Nazi symbol, the red inverted triangle marking political prisoners in concentration camps, and the subsequent removal of the adverts by Facebook, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International...
03.06.2020

Mark Zuckerberg is blindly fumbling around in a world filled with racist and anti-Semitic hatred, blatant populist lies and far-right extremist conspiracy theories

Commenting on Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks on the conflict between Twitter and the American President, and labelling anti-Semitic contents and flagging posts glorifying violence on facebook itself, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said in Berlin:
July 2020
26.07.2020

Holocaust survivors mourn the death of Hans-Jochen Vogel: The Holocaust was a constant source of burning pain in Vogel’s life

In Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, paid tribute to Hans-Jochen Vogel:
23.07.2020

Stutthof trial: Shocked and outraged

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee commented on the outcome of the Stutthof trial in Hamburg:
August 2020
30.08.2020

Shocking scenes in front of the Reichstag Building: Standing up against attacks on the democratic state

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on yesterday’s Covid-19 demonstration:
26.08.2020

Banned Covid-19 demonstration in Berlin: It would be unbearable if anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists were to march through the streets together with Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis and preachers of hate

Commenting in Berlin on the banning of the Covid-19 demonstration by the Berlin Senate, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:
24.08.2020

Halle / Alsace / Erfurt / Oradour sur Glane / Graz: The states of Europe are still giving neo-Nazis and far-right extremists too much free rein

Auschwitz survivors are following the dramatic increase in anti-Semitic and right-wing extremist attacks in many European countries with growing concern. Attempts to attack or kill Jews, such as in Halle and Graz, the defacing of Jewish graves such as in Alsace in last December, or as now in...
22.08.2020

Attack on the memorial village of Oradour sur Glane: Not only the French government has to defend democracy and the dignity of the victims

Survivors of the Holocaust throughout the world are horrified and saddened by the news of the far-right attack on memorial village of Oradour sur Glane. Commenting in Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said:
21.08.2020

Odious comparisons: Court in Hamburg sentences website owner to pay damages

Doctor Christina Hänel from Giessen defended herself today in Hamburg’s Regional Court with an action for an injunction against the owners of the website Babycaust. The website compared abortions with the Holocaust saying they open the gate to Auschwitz. In her decision today the judge in Hamburg...
03.08.2020

Brutal attack in Erfurt, twelve arrested but freed: International Auschwitz Committee calls to ban Der III. Weg (The Third Way)

During a visit to the Auschwitz Memorial Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on the current situation of the far-right movement Der III. Weg (The Third Way) in Erfurt and the outrageous release without charge of twelve suspects following a...
01.08.2020

High-ranking delegation visits the Memorial: Auschwitz remains on the global agenda

In Oswiecim, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee made the following statement before accompanying the joint delegation of Prof Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Dr Irmgard Schwaetzer (EKD/Protestant Church in Germany), Dr Joseph Schuster (Central Council of...
September 2020
27.09.2020

The deadly attack in Halle and Yom Kippur: “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented”

Whilst at the Auschwitz Memorial Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee made the following statement about the first anniversary of the deadly attack in Halle and tomorrow’s High Holiday of Yom Kippur:
25.09.2020

Undignified and ignorant of history: AfD man elected as chairman of Gera city council

Whilst at the Auschwitz Memorial, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee commented on the election of the AfD representative Reinhard Etzrodt as chairman of Gera city council:
23.09.2020

The Federal Minister of the Interior must take a stand at last and investigate right-wing extremist incidents within the police forces

The International Auschwitz Committee renews its urgent demand for an independent investigative commission to look into the right-wing extremist incidents within the police.
16.09.2020

The police forces should have the greatest possible interest in freeing themselves from right-wing extremists

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on the discovery of far-right groupings within the North Rhine-Westphalian police force:
October 2020
29.10.2020

A clear position on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party: Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension is exemplary and encouraging for the survivors of the Holocaust

In London today, the Equal and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) presented its report on anti-Semitic tendencies and incidents in the British Labour Party. And it revealed with commendable clarity the long-standing anti-Semitic tendencies and scandals within the party. As a consequence of the report,...
26.10.2020

On the death of Thomas Oppermann

On the death of Thomas Oppermann, Vice President of Germany’s Federal Parliament the Bundestag and SPD politician, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, paid tribute as follows:
12.10.2020

Facebook will defend itself against Holocaust deniers in future: Decision of great symbolic significance

Auschwitz survivors throughout the world are welcoming Marc Zuckerberg’s decision to banish Holocaust denial from facebook pages. In view of facebook’s worldwide potential to influence people, and its numbers of users, this decision is long overdue.
07.10.2020

Ruth Klüger has died: We needed her for much longer

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, paid tribute to Ruth Klüger:
04.10.2020

Attack in Hamburg: Anti-Semitic hatred is eating its way deeper into the world

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, made the following statement after the attack on a Jewish student in front of the synagogue in Hamburg:
November 2020
28.11.2020

Hungary: Perfidious attack on the American-Jewish philanthropist George Soros and the European Union

Today, on an influential news website, Origo, the author and director of the renowned Petöfi Literary Museum, Szilárd Demeter, has written a perfidious attack on the American-Jewish philanthropist George Soros and the European Union. Demeter was enthroned as director of this important museum by the...
21.11.2020

“You aren’t the majority! We’re standing up for democracy and against hatred!”

It is with growing concern that Holocaust survivors are following the increasingly aggressive and potentially violent attitude at demonstrations by Covid-19 deniers in Leipzig and other places in the country. Increasing sections of demonstrators are clearly allowing themselves to be led by...
19.11.2020

The voice of his murdered fellow prisoners and family members: Paul Sobol has died

On 17 November, the Auschwitz survivor Paul Sobol died in Brussels aged 94. Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, paid tribute as follows:
19.11.2020

Anniversary of the start of the Nuremburg Trials: “They marked the beginning, but they weren’t continued”

During these days, Holocaust survivors around the world are commemorating the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nuremburg Trials on 20 November 1945.
18.11.2020

AfD poisons the political atmosphere and ridicules victims of National Socialism

Commenting in Berlin on the current behaviour of the AfD in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:
10.11.2020

Difficult to understand: Pegida demonstration on 9 November

Commenting in Berlin on the Pegida* demonstration on 9 November 2020 in Dresden, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:
08.11.2020

Commemorating 9 November 1938: A call to constantly defend democracy and tolerance against hatred and complacency

In Berlin, while commemorating the Night of the November Pogroms on 9 November 1938, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:
03.11.2020

He was an ambassador for tolerance and a person who gave courage to others: Justin Sonder has died

In his tribute to the Auschwitz survivor from Chemnitz, Justin Sonder, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said in Berlin:
December 2020
21.12.2020

Appropriate: Auschwitz survivors react to the conviction of the Halle attacker

Commenting in Berlin on the sentence passed by the Naumburg Higher Regional Court on the Halle attacker, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:
17.12.2020

Gestapo comparison in European Parliament

In Berlin, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee made the following comments on the decision of the PPE Group in the European Parliament to keep the Hungarian Fidesz representative Tamas Deutsch in the group, despite his Gestapo comparison:
05.12.2020

When Willy Brandt fell to his knees: To this day an enduring appeal to keep on confronting the dark sides of one’s own national history

Throughout the world Holocaust survivors are now remembering Willy Brandt’s gesture of humility on 7 December 1970. That was the day when he, as the Federal Chancellor of Germany, knelt in humility at the Ghetto Memorial in Warsaw, acknowledged his home country’s guilt towards the Jews of Europe...