OPINION: A chilling reminder to a world on edge
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

OPINION: A chilling reminder to a world on edge

As the last Holocaust survivors speak, the fight against hate must continue without them

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Prince and Princess of Wales with Holocaust survivors on Holocaust Memorial Day, which also marked 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Prince and Princess of Wales with Holocaust survivors on Holocaust Memorial Day, which also marked 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz

I’ve just returned to London from Krakow where I attended events marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau. As with any visit to the camps and environs one experiences a welter of thoughts and emotions in real time.

Whether winter or spring there is always a chill in the air which engenders a numbness of the soul. What happened in the camps and across occupied Europe defies comprehension. The grief, sorrow and anger are one thing, the sense of loss almost unbearable. How did it happen? What have we lost? What could have been?

At an individual level we think of the barbarity, cruelty and pain experienced by each victim. But it also has the power to provoke fear and anxiety amongst us in 2025. It’s like peering over the ledge and into the abyss.

It’s still there.

The backdrop to this international gathering was distinctive from the last one five years ago. The shadow of international conflict and instability were ever present. The war in Ukraine ensured the Russians were absent even though the camps were liberated by the Soviet army.

It was notable that President Zelenskyy received spontaneous applause as he lit his memorial candle at the ceremony.

Adrian Cohen

Of course, the war with Hamas and the terrible events of 7th October and the wave of antisemitism which has followed provided a touchstone in most of the speeches, whether at the dinner hosted for the 17 survivors present at it and among the speakers at the ceremony itself, not least as expressed by the survivors themselves so cogently. Some bared their tattoos. Everywhere one turns the complexity of organised human existence makes itself felt.

There was a sense of mortality too. The likelihood of there being survivors present at the next gathering, presumably in five years’ time, is small. The narrative of the Polish government downplaying Polish complicity in the events pre, during or post Holocaust came through in the language of some of the guides and exhibitions.

The grief, sorrow and anger are one thing, the sense of loss almost unbearable. How did it happen? What have we lost? What could have been?

Conversely, I attended an atonement by representatives of Bayer and BASF (formerly part of IG Farben) in Monowitz or Auschwitz 3 site of slave labour camp and the industrial complex.

I had a brief opportunity to review the Book of Names and read the names of some of my extended family members. The bleakness of it all, what can one say? Being with members of communities from all over the world at least gave a sense of solidarity, from large and small communities, from Serbia, Moldova, Norway, Canada, South Africa, Tunisia and as far afield as Mauritius and of course Israel, to pick a random sample. Jews are both gathered and scattered and yet share the same hopes and fears. But it is also a testament to the tenacity and bravery of our very tiny and ingenious people.

Never again isn’t just a sentiment. It remains a call to action; one we are obliged to answer.

Adrian Cohen is Senior Vice President of the Board of Deputies

 

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: