Athens
, 27 January 2010
Sixty-five years ago today, Allied troops entered the death camp of Auschwitz, putting an end to an infamy that is felt even today as a mark of Cain on the whole of the human race. Millions of men and women, of many nations, faiths and races, never lived to see that day. Others did, and some are still with us, as living witnesses to the evil that lurks in the darkest recesses of the human heart.
The tribute in blood, in particular that paid by the Jewish population of Europe, was appalling and will forever haunt our collective memory. Auschwitz took the lives of many; Greek Jews were disproportionately numerous among them. Greeks of other faiths also paid a heavy price, often in defense of their Jewish brethren. Many have been declared Righteous among the Nations and their names are engraved at the Holocaust Memorial of Yad Vashem.
Greece today honors these fallen sons and daughters, through the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Act, which was passed unanimously by the Hellenic Parliament, making 27 January a Day of national remembrance.
This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration, which launched a fertile rethinking of the Holocaust in Europe as part of the historical heritage of our continent and a defense against the possibility that such a horror be repeated. It has led to collaboration between many countries in order to develop further educational programmes and scholarly research, as well as to commemorate and to honour the victims of the Holocaust.
Greece is proud to be among the original signatories of this epochal document, in the person of then Foreign Minister George Papandreou, our Prime Minister today.