Archive Press 2018

January 2018

25.01.2018

International Holocaust Day 2018: Auschwitz survivors issue an urgent appeal and a warning

As International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches on 27 January, the day which has been observed every year since 2005 in memory of the victims, and the day of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Auschwitz survivors are sending out a warning.

18.01.2018

The International Auschwitz Committee honours the President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen for his commitment to democracy and human rights

This year, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January, the International Auschwitz Committee will be awarding the Statue of Remembrance to the President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen.

10.01.2018

Anti-Semitic MP Gedeon remains in the AfD

On the decision of the AfD for Herr Gedeon to remain a member of the party, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee commented in Berlin:

08.01.2018

AfD: absurd and shrill howling on Twitter

Holocaust survivors were appalled at the AfD’s entry into the German Bundestag: time and again, scandalous behaviour is now proving their fears are well-founded.

06.01.2018

International Auschwitz Committee calls for a cross-party initiative against anti-Semitism

Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee see the increase in anti-Semitic hatred in Germany as a historical caesura and a colossal challenge to German society.

March 2018

15.03.2018

‘Because of Auschwitz’: survivors invite the new German foreign minister Heiko Maas to visit Oswiecim

Auschwitz survivors throughout the world are grateful, and impressed by one of the new German foreign minister’s first position declarations saying he entered politics “because of Auschwitz”. The survivors are offering a warm welcome to the minister to visit the Auschwitz and Birkenau Memorial as...

12.03.2018

On the death of the former SS man Oskar Gröning

In Oswiecim, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on the death of Oskar Gröning, a former SS man in Auschwitz:

April 2018

25.04.2018

Kippa demonstrations: an important day, important clarity, and even a turning point

Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are welcoming today’s gestures of solidarity towards Jewish people which will take place as Kippa demonstrations in many cities and regions throughout the country.

21.04.2018

Antisemitism in Germany and Europe: wave of outrage should not become another ineffective isolated phenomenon

Auschwitz survivors are following the planned demonstration of support this Wednesday in Berlin with keen interest and sympathy in view of the increasing threat of anti-Semitism in Germany.

19.04.2018

Echo: the statement by record company BMG-MGM is absolutely disgraceful

According to various press reports the record company BMG-MGM has now given its full backing to the rap duo Kollegah/Farid Bang and the publication of their album Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend 3 (young, brutal and good looking).

18.04.2018

Anti-Semitism - Reactions to the Echo Award: defending a steadfast democracy and the clarity of the basic law

Auschwitz survivors are grateful for and enheartened by the many responses of outrage and support following the award of the Echo music prize to the anti-Semitic rap duo Kollegah / Farid Bang with their lyrics expressing contempt not only towards former Auschwitz prisoners. They are especially...

13.04.2018

Echo Prize awarded to the duo Kollegah - Farid Bang

Commenting on yesterday’s Echo award for the rap duo Kollegah-Farid Bang, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said in Oswiecim/Auschwitz:

11.04.2018

Echo participation of Kollegah/Farin Bang: a blatant insult to the survivors

Despite scrutiny by a so-called ethics council, the rapper duo Kollegah/Farin Bang are still taking part in the German Echo Awards ceremony. This is seen as a blatant insult to the survivors of the Holocaust and as a shameful affair for Germany. To the survivors it feels like a massive breach of...

02.04.2018

ECHO nomination for Kollegah / Farid Bang: Auschwitz survivors are outraged

Auschwitz survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are outraged by the nomination of the rap duo Kollegah/Farid Bang for the Germany’s ECHO Music Prize, despite their texts that are regularly filled with hatred and fantasies of violence.

June 2018

25.06.2018

Honorary citizenship for Inge Deutschkron and Margot Friedländer: “They are urgently needed now.”

Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are pleased at the news and welcome the city of Berlin’s recognition of Inge Deutschkron and Margot Friedländer by making them honorary citizens.

14.06.2018

In remembrance of first transport of Polish prisoners to Auschwitz: the IAC and trainees from Poland and Germany laid wreaths

Today Poland officially remembered the first transport of Polish prisoners to the infamous German concentration camp of Auschwitz who arrived there on 14 June 1940. Representatives from politics, churches, organizations and the families of the prisoners laid flowers and wreaths in memory of their...

07.06.2018

Rapper duo Kollegah and Farid Bang in Auschwitz: contemplative, moved and full of questions

Today, the musicians Kollegah and Farid Bang visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. Their visit was in response to an invitation by the International Auschwitz Committee which they received following the fierce public debate surrounding the rappers’ texts and the Echo music award. During their...

July 2018

18.07.2018

Anti-Semitic brutalization: today’s presentation of the study on anti-Semitism by the Technical University Berlin

Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are shocked and extremely concerned at the results of the study on anti-Semitism carried out by the Technical University Berlin which was presented today.

05.07.2018

On the death of the film director Claude Lanzmann

Auschwitz survivors throughout the world are grieving the death of the great witness to history and filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, who repeatedly focussed the world’s attention on the crimes of the Holocaust.

04.07.2018

Auschwitz survivors demand the disclosure of all files concerning the Nazi war criminal in Germany

Tomorrow an appeal process will take place at the Higher Administrative Court in Münster in which a journalist is trying to ensure that the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution finally discloses the remaining files on the Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner.

August 2018

31.08.2018

International Auschwitz Committee calls for immediate observation of the AfD by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution

During a working stay at the Auschwitz Memorial, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee stated:

30.08.2018

The development of right-wing extremism in Germany / Chemnitz: cause for growing concern and horrific memories

During a working stay at the Auschwitz Memorial, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on right-wing extremist developments in Germany and on the marches planned in Chemnitz next weekend by neo-Nazis and potentially violent groups:

19.08.2018

Heiko Maas in Auschwitz / Oswiecim: survivors are hoping for increased efforts by the German Government to counter anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism

Auschwitz survivors are very disturbed by recent studies reporting a growing hardening of anti-Semitic prejudices and a massive increase in anti-Semitism in many different facets. For this reason, they are welcoming tomorrow’s journey to Oswiecim/Auschwitz by Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Mass,...

18.08.2018

Sadness, respect and gratitude: on the death of Kofi Annan

It is with sadness, respect and deepest gratitude that Auschwitz survivors throughout the world bid farewell to Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, who died today. During the many encounters with Kofi Annan and his wife Nane, who originates from the family of Raoul...

02.08.2018

The Federal Court of Justice on the Auschwitz Trial against Reinhold Hanning: “The guilty verdict would have been upheld in the appeal procedure”

On 24 May 2018 the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided to close the appeal proceedings in the Auschwitz Trial against the former SS man Reinhold Hanning as an accessory to murder, due to the death of the convicted person in May 2017. The decision has now been presented in writing.

September 2018

26.09.2018

Ida Grinspan has died

The Auschwitz survivor Ida Grinspan passed away during the night of 24 September in Paris. She was 88 years old. The politician, Delphine Batho, published the ‘very sad news’ about the death ‘of her friend’ on Twitter, and paid tribute to her as an ‘outstandingly courageous personality and a lover...

24.09.2018

Right-wing extremism has long since returned as an independent force within German society in the wake of the AfD

Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are watching carefully as they see their fears more than confirmed by the one-year activities of the AfD in the German Bundestag. The party has managed to place its stamp of aggressiveness and brutalisation on many debates in Germany, and...

20.09.2018

On the death of the French Auschwitz survivor and film director Marceline Loridan-Ivens

It is with heavy hearts and deepest gratitude that Auschwitz survivors around the world are bidding farewell to the French-Jewish Auschwitz survivor Marceline Loridan-Ivens who, together with her father, was deported to Auschwitz in 1943 as Marceline Rosenfeld, age 15. She also survived the death...

19.09.2018

Today’s EU summit in Strasbourg and refugee policies: reflecting on the values of Europe

Prior to today‘s EU summit, Auschwitz survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC) are appealing to the European heads of state and government to remember the European values which led the formerly hostile peoples into a community almost free of hatred and aggressiveness following the...

16.09.2018

IAC presidium meeting in Budapest: combat the strategies of hate on a massive scale, both politically and legally

The presidium of the International Auschwitz Committee met in Budapest from 13 to 15 September. It was attended by Auschwitz survivors and representatives from Hungary, the USA, Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria and Germany. The convention began as members of the IAC met with Dr...

11.09.2018

IAC Vice President Felix Kolmer honoured with the Saxon Order of Merit

Today, Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer will be awarding the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony to 17 people in the Gallery of the Electors at the Royal Palace in Dresden. Saxony presents this award to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the people and state...

08.09.2018

Anti-Semitic attack on restaurant in Chemnitz: those responsible with the police and Office for the Protection of the Consitution are overchallenged

The latest news, that a Jewish restaurant was attacked and the owner threatened during the excessive right-wing extremist violence in Chemnitz, has caused Auschwitz survivors to ask urgent new questions concerning the safety of Jewish life in Germany. It has also awakened painful memories of the...

06.09.2018

Latest news and development of AfD: enemies of the constitution under observation

It is with increasing concern that Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are following the radicalisation of the AfD and the openly increasing collaboration between the AfD, national socialist and right-wing extremist groupings. The survivors find it particularly disturbing...

03.09.2018

Letter for today’s concert in Chemnitz #wir sind mehr sent by young people from Germany and Poland: “Your smile is also our smile”

At the moment young Volkswagen trainees from Wolfsburg, Emden and Osnabrück are working together with Polish vocational college students and the International Auschwitz Committee at the Auschwitz Memorial for 14 days. It is in this place that they have been following and discussing the events in...

October 2018

10.10.2018

Gauland retracing Hitler’s tracks: the need to recognize the AfD for what it is

The Holocaust survivors are not surprised by the fact that Herr Gauland’s political twists and turns are clearly retracing Hitler’s tracks and that his worldview is digging deep into the stockpile of Nazi propaganda.

December 2018

13.12.2018

Auschwitz survivor Noah Klieger has died in Israel

Auschwitz survivors throughout the world are saddened by the death of their friend and companion Noah Klieger who passed away today in Israel aged 92.

11.12.2018

Majdanek trial in Frankfurt am Main: outrage at court’s inaction

Holocaust survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are carefully watching the Majdanek court proceedings in Frankfurt am Main. They are filled with incomprehension and growing anger by the court’s inactivity in the pending proceedings against a 90-year-old former member of the SS at...

Archive Press 2019

April 2019

13.04.2019

100th anniversary of the Bauhaus: "Architect of mass murder" in Auschwitz

Simply by studying at the Bauhaus and encountering the creative and cosmopolitan approach of the founders and teachers in Dessau was clearly not enough to prevent this humane and artistic approach from being transformed into the opposite in later professional life. In fact it even became possible...

May 2019

08.05.2019

It is time to turn out in high numbers: open letter to the young people of Europe

Today, on 8 May, Auschwitz survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee are sending an open letter to the young people of Europe. They are urging them to use their votes wisely in the upcoming European elections, and to oppose parties that are aiming to undermine and destroy Europe through...

22.05.2019

Ahead of the European Parliament elections: IAC signs Mauthausen Appeal

June 2019

22.06.2019

Right-wing extremism: Current developments in Germany

Holocaust survivors are very disconcerted and worried by the news from Germany. In view of the spiritless attitudes in politics and society, they are asking themselves whether the significantly increasing potential for right-wing hatred and violence has been played down and underestimated for far...

July 2019

17.07.2019

Abhorrence and dismay: offensive attitude of Italy’s Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, creates space for racists

It is with abhorrence and dismay that Auschwitz survivors around the globe are following the increasingly offensive attitude and remarks of Italy’s Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini. They are equally apprehensive about Salvini’s blindness towards the far right: the activities of Neo-Nazi...

20.07.2019

On the death of Agnes Heller: we will miss her critical, illuminating mind, especially in these times

Holocaust survivors in Hungary and many other countries are bidding farewell with sorrow and gratitude to their great companion and fellow sufferer, who died yesterday aged 90 years. Agnes Heller experienced the horrors of the Holocaust from both the German and the Hungarian sides. As one of only a...

23.07.2019

On the death of the Polish Vice President of the Committee and Auschwitz survivor Kazimierz Albin: “He felt it was very important for him to be heard in Germany.”

Auschwitz survivors throughout the world are bidding farewell to their friend and brother, the Polish Auschwitz survivor Kazimierz Albin, who died yesterday in Warsaw at the age of 96.

28.07.2019

Extreme right-wing violence not restricted to Germany: remembering the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Auschwitz survivor and writer Primo Levi

In Berlin, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, gave a statement on the development of right-wing extremism and the views of the Holocaust survivors who are remembering the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Auschwitz survivor and writer Primo...

August 2019

01.08.2019

Anger and despair: remembering the Sinti and Roma people who were murdered in Auschwitz

The survivors of Auschwitz are now remembering the indescribable sufferings and murders of the Sinti and Roma prisoners in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Just like the Jews of Europe, the Sinti and Roma peoples were scheduled to be extinguished from the face of the earth.

20.08.2019

New concept for the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Germany must put cyber hate on the international agenda

Auschwitz survivors are grateful that Germany now intends to develop a new concept, based on reality, in order to pursue a stronger and more resolute course in combatting far-right extremist hatred and violence. The assessments made by the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for...

September 2019

01.09.2019

“We want to do things better”: in Auschwitz / Oswiecim young people from Germany and Poland commemorate the anniversary of the invasion of Poland

A week ago, trainees from Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Emden and Osnabrück, and Polish vocational college students from Bielsko Biala, started working together on a Memorial Project organized by the International Auschwitz Committee at the Auschwitz Memorial. They are involved in conservation work at...

14.09.2019

Tribute to György Konrad: He gave a clear, intense and captivating voice to the history of all Holocaust survivors

On the death of the Hungarian-Jewish writer György Konrad, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee paid tribute in Berlin as follows:

19.09.2019

Naive and blind to history: The IAC reacts to the increasing parliamentary cooperation between mainstream political parties and the AfD

Holocaust survivors are becoming increasingly concerned that in Germany the bitter experiences and horrific consequences of the years under the Nazi regime are fading in people’s consciousness. Current political dangers are no longer being recognized.

24.09.2019

Each one of the 29 pending proceedings involving Nazi perpetrators in Germany leads to greater justice. But the statement by the regional court in Wuppertal is poor testimony

According to the programme Panorama, there are currently 29 pending proceedings involving Nazi perpetrators. During a stay at the Auschwitz Memorial Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee commented on the situation:

October 2019

07.10.2019

Renewed destruction of a remembrance site in Zwickau: Trainees from Volkswagen plant new trees

Speaking in Berlin on the renewed destruction of a remembrance site dedicated to victims of the right-wing extremist terror group NSU (National Socialist Underground) in Zwickau, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:

09.10.2019

Deadly attack in Halle: Memories of the darkest and most murderous times of anti-Semitism in Germany

Speaking in Berlin about the attack in Halle, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:

27.10.2019

Thuringia: Hardening of far-right basic attitudes and tendencies

Commenting in Berlin on the political developments in view of the forecast results of the elections in Thuringia, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:

29.10.2019

Anti-Semitism is destroying the democratic everyday life of all citizens in Europe

On 28 and 29 October, Auschwitz survivors and representatives of Auschwitz foundations from 8 countries took part in a meeting of the Presidium of the International Auschwitz Committee in Brussels. During the meeting the survivors of the German concentration and extermination camps expressed their...

31.10.2019

Decision of the AfD arbitration tribunal in the case of Gedeon / Anti-Semitism

In Berlin Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, commented on the decision of the AfD arbitration tribunal in Schleswig-Holstein to keep Herr Gedeon as a member of the AfD:

November 2019

08.11.2019

Solidarity with Liliana Segre: VW trainees hold a vigil in front of the Italian Embassy against anti-Semitic hatred

Today, the International Auschwitz Committee joined with trainees from the VW plants in Emden, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg and Bielsko-Biala, Poland, for vigils in front of the Italian Embassy in Berlin-Tiergarten, as well as at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The vigils are taking place...

08.11.2019

IAC condemns anti-Semitic hatred: the Italian Auschwitz survivor Liliana Segre receives police protection

Auschwitz survivors throughout the world are filled with outrage, sadness and empathy by the upsurge of anti-Semitic hatred that is being directed against their 89-year-old Italian fellow sufferer on a daily basis. As a result of this situation, Liliana Segre is now receiving police protection.

14.11.2019

Against right-wing extremism – for democracy: the International Auschwitz Committee honours Zwickau’s Mayor Dr Pia Findeiss

In the present situation, the presidium of the International Auschwitz Committee has decided to award its “B sculpture” to the mayor of the city of Zwickau, Dr Pia Findeiss. The statue echoes the letter B in the inscription ARBEIT MACHT FREI (work makes you free) which the SS ordered prisoners to...

21.11.2019

Chancellor Merkel visits Auschwitz: An act signalling interest and solidarity

Commenting in Berlin on the upcoming visit to the Auschwitz Memorial by German Chancellor Angelika Merkel on 6 December 2019, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:

23.11.2019

On the withdrawal of non-profit status for the Association of Victims of the Nazi regime – Anti-fascist Federation VVN/BdA

Survivors of the German concentration and extermination camps in many countries are appalled and disconcerted by the unwise and scandalous decision of the Berlin tax office to withdraw the non-profit status from the Association of Victims of the Nazi regime – Anti-fascist Federation VVN/BdA, thus...

December 2019

04.12.2019

A signal at this place of crimes against humanity: Survivors are asking for presence of their heads of state in Auschwitz on 27 January

After the desecration of graves at a Jewish cemetery in Alsace, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee stated:

29.12.2019

Anti-Semitic stabbing attack in New York: “Clearly the world does not have the strength or the will to counter the increasingly intense eruptions of anti-Semitic hatred.”

In the run-up to the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz in January 2020 Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee made a statement on the anti-Semitic knife attack in New York and the current massive increase in anti-Semitic incidents in many...