2025 Holocaust Remembrance and Education
Jewish women and children from Subcarpathian Rus selected by the Nazi SS for death, walk toward the gas chambers of Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Death Camp (1940-1945).
Those pictured include Jolan Wollstein of Szombathely, her children Erwin, Judith, Dori and Naomi, her non-Jewish governess Edith, Henchu Mueller Falkovics, Kreindel Vogel and her sister Sase Vogel and Rita Gruenglass.
Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Yad Vashem (Public Domain)
Theme: Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights
2025 marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War and the Holocaust.
Eighty years ago, in response to the atrocities of the war and the Holocaust, governments of the world established the United Nations, pledging to work together to build a just world where human rights were enshrined, and all could live with dignity, in peace.
Acknowledging the milestone year, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has chosen as its guiding theme for 2025, “Holocaust remembrance and education for dignity and human rights”.
The theme reflects the critical relevance of Holocaust remembrance for the present, where the dignity and human rights of our fellow global citizens are under daily attack.
The Holocaust shows what happens when hatred, dehumanization and apathy win.
Its remembrance is a bulwark against the denigration of humanity, and a clarion call for collective action to ensure respect for dignity and human rights, and the international law that protects both.
Holocaust remembrance safeguards the memories of survivors and their testament of life before the Holocaust – of vibrant communities, of traditions, of hopes and dreams, of loved ones who did not survive.
Safeguarding the history brings dignity to those the Nazis and their collaborators sought to destroy.
Remembrance of the Holocaust is a victory against the Nazis and their collaborators, and against all who would try to continue their legacy through spreading hatred, Holocaust distortion and denial into the 21st century.
Calendar of Events
January | February | March | April
Thursday, 23 January 2025
Book Launch and Discussion with Professor Debórah Dwork, Author of Saints and Liars
1:00 p.m. EST, United Nations Bookshop
Saints and Liars is about Americans – Quakers, Unitarians, Jews – who travelled abroad to aid and, step by step, engaged in rescuing people targeted by Nazi Germany and other racist states. Their history illuminates the factors that trigger commitment and lays bare how rescue unfolded on the ground during the Holocaust. Zooming in on one city, one year, and one person or couple, Professor Dwork's work offers a microhistory that plumbs the key role of previously hidden factors. Saints and Liars prompts us to imagine history —all of history—as a time as full and rich as our own and reframes the way we think about, analyze, and write about the past.
16 January – 21 February 2025
Exhibition: Holocaust Remembrance - A Commitment to Truth
Visitors' Lobby, United Nations Headquarters
80 years after the Holocaust ended, Holocaust remembrance remains an imperative: a haunting reminder of what happens when prejudice is left unchallenged, and dignity and rights destroyed. Through the testimony of survivors and photographs, the exhibition provides an overview of the Holocaust, the antisemitism and other factors that facilitated it and the terrible atrocities perpetrated against victims of the Nazis and their racist collaborators. The exhibition illustrates the courage of victims to resist dehumanization.
Exhibition: Lest We Forget
Visitors' Lobby, United Nations Headquarters
This exhibition provides glimpses of moments of kindness and compassion, of life enjoyed, and of the intimate connections that existed in Jewish families and communities before the Holocaust. The photographs stand as stark evidence of the deep and terrible loss and destruction wrought by the Nazis and their racist collaborators during the Holocaust, in their attempt to destroy all trace of Jewish life, tradition, communities, homes, families and individuals. The photographs reflect the humanity of the victims of the Holocaust, and underline the scale of the destruction of the Nazis and their racist collaborators. The photographs remind us of our common humanity, and our responsibility to defend the right of all to live with dignity and in peace.
Exhibition: Auschwitz - A Place on Earth. The Auschwitz Album
Visitors' Lobby, United Nations Headquarters
This exhibition depicts the only known visual documentation - The Auschwitz Album - of the process leading to the mass murder perpetrated by the Nazis at Auschwitz Birkenau. The Auschwitz Album is a source of invaluable evidence, a silent and powerful rebuke against the people who created and ran the death camps. This exhibit is organized by Yad Vashem and endorsed by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme and the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations.
The exhibitions are free and open to the public. No registration is required. Please visit UN Exhibits for visitor instructions.
Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Film Screening and Discussion: UnBroken
7:00 p.m. EST, Center for Jewish History, 15 W 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme together with the Center for Jewish History, will host the screening of the documentary UnBroken, followed by a panel discussion with the film's director, producer, and writer Beth Lane and her mother, Holocaust survivor, Ginger Lane, whose story of survival is featured in the film. In the film, Beth Lane embarks on an international quest to uncover answers about the plight of her mother and her mother’s six siblings who, as mere children, escaped Nazi Germany relying solely on their own youthful bravado and the kindness of German strangers.
The screening of UnBroken is part of the Center for Jewish History's programming series Anne Frank in History and Memory and film series Holocaust History on Film: Anne Frank and Beyond in connection with Anne Frank The Exhibition. This screening is made possible by The Weber Family Arts Foundation.
Watch the discussion | Read more
Sunday, 2 March 2025
Film Screening and Discussion: Bau, Artist at War
3:00 p.m. EST, Center for Jewish History, 15 W 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
Bau, Artist at War is based on the true love story of Joseph and Rebecca Bau, whose wedding took place in the Plaszow concentration camp during the Second World War. Using his artistic skills and sense of humour in the camps, Joseph manages to stay alive and ultimately helps hundreds to escape. Years later, when called to be a key witness in the trial of the brutal Nazi officer who tortured him and killed his father, he is thrust back into vivid memories of the Holocaust. The screening will be followed by a conversation with film director Sean McNamara, writer/producer Deborah Smerecnik and Joseph Bau’s daughters Clila and Hadasa Bau, moderated by Daniel S. Mariaschin, CEO of B’nai B’rith International.
The screening of Bau, Artist at War is organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, together with the Center for Jewish History, as part of the film series Holocaust History on Film: Anne Frank and Beyond in connection with Anne Frank The Exhibition.
Watch the discussion | Read more
Monday, 3 March 2025
Film Screening and Discussion: Here Lived: The Stolpersteine Story
7:00 p.m. EST, Center for Jewish History, 15 W 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
Through tracing the story of the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), Here Lived: The Stolpersteine Story focuses on the generational trauma suffered by families impacted by atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during the Second World War. Her Excellency Ms. Lise Gregoire-van Haaren, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations will deliver remarks. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with producer and director Jane Wells, historian Emile Schrijver and producer Ulrika Citron, moderated by Tracey Petersen, Manager of the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme.
The screening of Here Lived: The Stolpersteine Story is organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, together with the Center for Jewish History, as part of the film series Holocaust History on Film: Anne Frank and Beyond in connection with Anne Frank The Exhibition.
Thursday, 20 March 2025
Virtual Discussion: "Women in Auschwitz"
Join the online discussion “Women in Auschwitz” with Dr. Sarah Cushman, Holocaust historian and Director of the Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University. His Excellency Mr. Krzysztof Szczerski, Permanent Representative of Poland will deliver introductory remarks.
Watch the discussion | Read more
Monday, 21 April 2025
Presentation and Panel Discussion: Dedication
6:30 p.m. EDT, United Nations Headquarters
The event comprises an educational presentation by Mr. Roger Peltzman about the Holocaust and its impact, and a panel discussion. Mr. Peltzman is a pianist, educator and son of a Holocaust survivor. His storytelling presentation recounts the experience of his uncle, a young pianist murdered during the Holocaust. His uncle's history inspired Mr. Peltzman to pursue music as a way to connect with his family history and cope with second-generation survivor trauma. The event highlights the courage of victims and survivors of the Holocaust, considers the challenges they faced after the Second World War, and how the Holocaust is understood and remembered by their children.
Secretary-General's Message on the International Day of Commemoration
in memory of the victims of the Holocaust
Statements
Remarks by H.E. Mr. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang, President of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly
Recording of the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony
2025 Holocaust Remembrance Activities around the World
Africa | Americas | Asia and Pacific | Europe and the CIS
In 2025 more than 25 United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) organized events and activities in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
United Nations Information Centres (UNICs), United Nations Information Service (UNIS) and United Nations Offices (UNOs) including Abuja, Accra, Antananarivo, Bogotá, Brussels, Dar es Salaam, Geneva, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kyiv, Lima, Lusaka, Manila, Mexico City, Minsk, Moscow, Nairobi, Prague, Pretoria, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Vienna, Warsaw, Yangon and Yaoundé organized or participated in Holocaust remembrance activities and events. The UNICs also promoted the International Day and the United Nations Secretary-General’s message through their websites and social media.
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme supported the UNICs with seed money allocations and educational resources.
Africa
UNIC Abuja
On 27 January 2025, in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, UNIC Abuja organized an education outreach event on the Holocaust and combating antisemitism with over 400 students from the Government Secondary School, Federal capital Territory, Garki, Abuja.
The exhibition Lest We Forget was displayed at the briefing, offering glimpses of life enjoyed and intimate connections in Jewish families and communities before the Holocaust. The exhibition reminded the audience of their responsibility to defend the right of all to live with dignity and peace.
On 28 January 2025, UNIC Abuja held an educational briefing on the Holocaust with 120 students from secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja at the UN House. The briefing was organized by the UNIC and UNESCO with support from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Abuja and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Among the speakers were Mr. Albert Mendy, Officer-in-Charge of UNESCO Regional Office Abuja, represented by Mr. Antony Ogunniyi, Education Programme Officer; and Ms. Lipman Garden, Deputy High Commissioner of the State of Israel in Nigeria. The event was attended by Ms. Adwoa Kufuor, United Nations Senior Adviser on Human Rights; Mr. Ronald Kayanja, Director of UNIC Abuja, Mr. Matthias Dold, First Secretary, the Embassy of Germany in Abuja; Mr. Michael Murphy, Representative, High Commission of Canada to Nigeria; and Ms. Victoria Cook and Ms. Bella Ndubuisi, representative of the Embassy of the United States in Abuja.
The programme also included the screening of a video presentation by Ms. Phoebe McDougal and Ms. Andrea Bertrand of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a quiz to test the students knowledge of the facts of the Holocaust, and the exhibition Lest We Forget.
UNIC Accra
On 28 January 2025, the United Nations in Ghana in partnership with the Embassy of the State of Israel and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Accra, marked the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust in a solemn ceremony. The event, held at the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Ghana, brought together government officials, members of the diplomatic community, civil society groups, and students to honour the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and reinforce the commitment to combating antisemitism, racism, and intolerance worldwide.
Speakers included Mr. Charles Abani, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana; H. E. Mr. Roey Gilad, Ambassador of the State of Israel to Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone; and H.E. Mr. Daniel Krull, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ghana. The event also featured a panel discussion on the Holocaust from an African perspective, moderated by H.E. Mr. Roey Gilad, with panelists including Dr. Joseph Whittal, Commissioner, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ); H.E. Rosemary Mbabazi, High Commissioner of Rwanda to Ghana; and Professor Samuel Ntewusu, Director of African Studies at the University of Ghana.
UNIC Antananarivo
On 29 January 2025, UNIC Antananarivo organized a commemorative event on the Holocaust at the University of Ravelojaona. The event was well attended by some 100 students, faculty members and other distinguished guests. Madame Belalahy Hanitriniaina, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice of Madagascar delivered a speech emphasizing the importance of equality and the fight against discrimination.
Activities at the event included a moment of silence to honour the victims of the Holcaust, display of the exhibition #FakeImages- Unmask the Dangers of Stereotypes in French, and discussions on the historical significance of the Holocaust. The event underscored the values of "Fihavanana, Firaisan-kina, Fifankatiavana (Solidarity, Unity, Friendship)”, which are central to Malagasy culture, and highlighted the importance of vigilance and commitment to preventing such atrocities in the future.
UNIC Dar es Salaam
On 25 January 2025, UNIC Dar es Salaam in collaboration with the Youth of the United Nations Tanzania organized an event in remembrance of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, with the purpose of raising awareness among youth about the impact of the Holocaust, hate speech, misinformation, prejudice and their role in preventing future tragedies. The exhibition #FakeImages- Unmask the Dangers of Stereotypes was displayed.
UNIC Lusaka
On January 29 and 30 2025, the United Nations in Zambia commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust with a series of educational outreach programmes aimed at instilling the values of respect, coexistence, and human rights in children and youth.
200 students from Naboye and Mikango Secondary Schools in Zambia's Chongwe and Kafue districts watched the documentary The Path to Nazi Genocide and engaged in discussions on the significance of human rights and the impact of discrimination and intolerance. Teachers were provided with resources and tools for fostering an environment of inclusivity and respect in their classrooms.
Participants, including Mr. Major Oscar Siita, Headteacher of Mikango Barracks Secondary School and Ms. Susan Jengajenga Zulu, Deputy Headteacher for Naboye Secondary School, expressed their appreciation for the United Nations initiative to interact with learners about the Holocaust.
UNIS Nairobi
UNIS Nairobi, in partnership with the Embassy of Israel in Kenya, commemorated the International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust on 28 January 2025, at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) in Kenya. Over 500 attendees, including 300 students from 24 universities, joined diplomats and United Nations officials at the event that marked 80 years since the end of the Holocaust.
Speakers included Mr. Lyonell Fliss, Holocaust survivor; Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General of UNON; and H. E. Mr. Michael Lotem, Ambassador of the State of Israel to Kenya. Students engaged in an interactive dialogue. Candles were lit to honour the 6 million Jews murdered.
UNIC Pretoria
On 27 January 2025, United Nations in South Africa, along with the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre and Education Africa, hosted an event to observe the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The event welcomed Grade 9 students from Masibambane Primary School in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, and offered them an opportunity to engage with history and reflect on its enduring legacy. Activities included a guided tour of the Centre, engagement with Ms. Miriam Lazarus, Holocaust survivor, an introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with focus on SDG 16 Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and a Model United Nations debate.
On 27 February 2025, the United Nations in South Africa hosted a Zikaron BaSalon (which means "Remembrance in the Living Room" in Hebrew, an initiative to honour the memory of the Holocaust). Ms. Irene Fainman, Holocaust survivor shared her journey of surviving the Second World War and the Holocaust. Ms. Tali Nates, Director of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre, accompanied Ms. Fainman at the Zikaron BaSalon conversation with 15 United Nations staff.
UNIC Yaoundé
On 20 March 2025, the Protestant University of Central Africa (PUCA) in Yaoundé, Cameroon hosted a Holocaust remembrance event, organized by United Nations Cameroon, with UNIC Yaoundé as lead, in collaboration with the Embassy of the State of Israel, the Embassy of Germany, the Ministry of External Relations of the government, and 150 students.
The ceremony commenced with the singing of the national anthem. Mr. Christian Lumbala, Officer-in-Charge at the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, representing the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Cameroon read the Secretary-General’s message in English and French. Remarks were delivered by Reverend Professor Frouisou Samuel, Rector of the Protestant University; His Excellency Mr. Amnon Kalmar, Ambassador of the State of Israel to Cameroon; Her Excellency Corinna Fricke, Ambassador of Germany to Camerron; His Excellency Mr. Felix Mbayu, Minister Delegate in charge of Commonwealth at the Ministry of External Relations. The event also featured a candle-lighting ceremony. Short movies of survivors of the Holocaust were screened, including Rena: Ils m’ont donné la vie. The event was an opportunity to reflect on the lessons of history, honour the memory of Holocaust victims, and promote values of tolerance and peace.
Americas
UNIC Bogotá
On 27 January 2025, the commemorative event for the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust was hosted at the Embassy of the United States in Colombia. Among the participants were the Ambassadors of Germany, the State of Israel, the Netherlands and the United States to Colombia, representatives of the Jewish community in Colombia, members of the Catholic Church and United Nations officials. During the event, the video message of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was screened, and Mr. Juan Miguel Diez, Director of the United Nations Information Centre for Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela delivered remarks. The exhibition Lest We Forget was displayed in Spanish.
UNIC Lima
UNIC Lima promoted a video testimony by Mr. Tom Hoffman, Holocaust survivor on social media. In the video with Spanish subtitles, Mr. Hoffman, born on 8 May 1944 in Budapest, Hungary, recalls how the war and the Holocaust shaped his life.
UNIC Mexico City
On 27 January 2025, UNIC Mexico City and the Museum of Memory and Tolerance hosted an event in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The event featured special presentations of the “Instrumentos de la Esperanza” (Instruments of Hope). The Instruments of Hope collection comprises 15 musical instruments that belonged to people who experienced the Holocaust.
The event highlighted music as a form of resistance and a way of preserving hope. Poems If This Is a Man by Primo Levi; First They Came for the Jews by Martin Niemöller; If Perhaps by Wislawa Szymborska; and Psalm by Paul Celan were read. Music with original compositions by Luis Reyes Ticó and Gabriel Bitrán, created especially for this event, accompanied the reading of the poems.
UNIC Rio de Janeiro
To mark the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, UNIC Rio de Janeiro promoted the #ProtectTheFacts campaign in Portuguese through social media. The campaign aims to counter Holocaust distortion and denial through social media.
Asia and the Pacific
UNIC Jakarta
UNIC Jakarta translated the United Nations Secretary-General's message on the International Day of commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust into Bahasa Indonesian and promoted the message on the website.
UNIC Kathmandu
UNIC Kathmandu promoted through social media, the online exhibitions Holocaust Remembrance: A Commitment to Truth and Lest We Forget, the #NoToHate campaign and the United Nations Secretary-General’s message on the International Day of commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
UNIC Manila
On 30 January 2025, UNIC Manila together with the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) and the University of Makati, held a youth forum in commemoration of the 80th year since the end of the Holocaust. The event served as a platform for young people, particularly university students, to be educated of the events that took place during the Second World War and the Holocaust and its long-lasting impact.
UNIC Manila promoted the online exhibition Holocaust Remembrance: A Commitment to Truth through social media.
UNIC Tokyo
UNIC Tokyo translated the United Nations Secretary-General's message on the International Day of commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust into Japanese. The UNIC also raised awareness of the International Day by promoting the video message and the 2025 theme on its social media accounts.
UNIC Yangon
At the invitation of the Embassy of the State of Israel in Myanmar, on 27 January 2025, Mr. Ye Htet Aung, National Information Officer and Head of UNIC Yangon, delivered the message of the United Nations Secretary-General for the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust at a Holocaust memorial event at the Embassy. The message was delivered on behalf of Mr. Marcoluigui Corsi, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Myanmar.
UNIC Yangon also translated the message into Burmese, and promoted it on the website.
Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
UNRIC Brussels
The Desk Offices of UNRIC Brussels promoted the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and the United Nations Secretary-General’s message in French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.
The UNRIC Brussels Library promoted UNESCO’s teachers guide and lesson activities to counter Holocaust denial and distortion through social media.
UNRIC Brussels Italy Desk Office produced a video with historian, writer and journalist Gabriele Nissim. Mr. Nissim is the Chairman of the Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide Committee (GARIWO), who dedicated his life to genocide prevention. In the video, Mr. Nissim talks about the importance of Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism. The video was posted, shared and disseminated widely.
UNRIC Brussels Italy Desk Office also hosted a cartoon by Italian cartoonist Lorenzo Bolzani on the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
UNIS Geneva
On 27 January 2025, UNIS Geneva co-organized the observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust with the Permanent Mission of the State of Israel and the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in Geneva. The ceremony featured a powerful and heartfelt testimony from Holocaust survivor Ivan Lefkovits, who shared his harrowing experiences as a child in Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen.
The event was moderated by Ms. Alessandra Vellucci, Director of UNIS Geneva. It began with the screening of the United Nations Secretary-General’s message, followed by statements by Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva; H. E. Mr. Daniel Martin Meron, Permanent Representative of the State of Israel to the United Nations Office at Geneva; and H. E. Ms. Lotte Knudsen, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office at Geneva. The International School of Geneva children’s choir provided music performances of songs Wiegala (a lullaby composed by Ilse Weber while imprisoned in Theresienstadt) and I Believe (inspired by a poem found on a concentration camp wall in Cologne). A candle-lighting ceremony was held in honour of the victims of the Holocaust.
The 70-minute event live streamed via United Nations WebTV and Facebook. UNTV Geneva also produced a TV edit.
In Geneva, flags bearing the Holocaust remembrance design were prominently displayed along Mont Blanc Bridge.
UNO Minsk
A commemorative event at the Beit Simcha Center for Progressive Judaism in Minsk brought together representatives of religious communities, educational institutions, and the diplomatic corps. Mr. Rasul Baghirov, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Belarus, delivered a statement that emphasized the importance of combating antisemitism and upholding human dignity. A thematic concert was performed by Alexei Zhbanov, a collector and performer of songs in Yiddish and Belarusian. The exhibition Holocaust Remembrance - A Commitment to Truth was displayed.
UNO Kyiv
On the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Death Camp (1940-1945), United Nations in Ukraine promoted a video message by Mr. Matthias Schmale, Assistant Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine. In the video, Mr. Schmale called for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust to be honoured, as well as those who risked their own lives to help others in need.
UNIC Moscow
UNIC Moscow plans to produce and publish the first issue of the UN in Russia bulletin in 2025 with a special focus on Holocaust remembrance. The publication will be released in March 2025 and will be promoted via website and social media managed by UNIC Moscow.
UNIC Prague
On the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, UNIC Prague organized educational programmes in Czech, for elementary school students, which included a screening of the film Road to Nazi Genocide about the history of the Holocaust.
UNIS Vienna
On 27 January 2025, some 300 staff members and representatives of the diplomatic corps and the Jewish community in Vienna joined the ceremony in the Vienna International Centre to honour the six million victims of the Holocaust. The ceremony was jointly organized by the Permanent Mission of the State of Israel to the United Nations in Vienna and UNIS Vienna, with the Permanent Mission of the United States to International Organizations in Vienna.
The ceremony started with a musical performance by Ms. Miriam Hajiyeva Israeli sopranist, accompanied by Ms. Almog Aharoni, pianist, who played the song A Walk to Caesarea, also known in Hebrew by its first words as “Eli Eli”, which translates to “My God, my God”. After the performance, a prayer was recited by Chief Cantor Shmuel Barzilai to mourn the lives of those lost.
Ms. Sonja Wintersberger, Officer-in-Charge of UNIS Vienna moderated the ceremony. Ms. Ghada Waly, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna read out the message of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Statements were delivered by H. E. Mr. David Roet, Permanent Representative of the State of Israel to the United Nations in Vienna; H. E. Mr. Howard Solomon, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the United States to International Organizations in Vienna; Ms. Dina Porat, Senior Academic Advisor of Yad Vashem - – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, and Mr. Dirk Adler, Holocaust survivor.
UNIC Warsaw
UNIC Warsaw assisted and accompanied the high-level delegation representing the United Nations Secretary-General at the ceremony held on 27 January 2025 at the Auschwitz Memorial, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Death Camp (1940-1945). The ceremony was attended by 56 Auschwitz Survivors, who were accompanied and listened to by leaders and representatives of over 50 countries. The United Nations was represented by a delegation headed by Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-United Nations United Nations United Nations United Nations Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs; Ms. Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and Mr. Miguel Moratinos, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
On 27 January 2025, UNIC Warsaw also participated in the observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, which took place at the Ghetto Heroes Monument in Warsaw.
UNIC Warsaw translated the United Nations Secretary-General's message on the International Day into Polish and promoted the video message with subtitles in Polish on social media.