OPINON: 80 years on, the weight of memory grows heavier
Today's anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation is a stark reminder of the past—and the urgent duty to preserve it for the future.
On 27 January 2005, Holocaust survivors gathered in Auschwitz, surrounded by the world’s media. British survivors of Auschwitz Zigi Shipper, Bob Obuchowski, and David Herman went together to the commemorations. No one could imagine what they went through, other than each other. They were friends and confidants, and each leant on the other on that difficult day, being back in the camp.
Zigi, Bob and David stood side by side, wrapped up in coats and gloves against the elements, not the flimsy striped pyjamas the Nazis forced them to wear. They touched the barbed wire together – something they could never have done while imprisoned there – the Nazis would never have let them get that close, and even if they did, the fences were electrified.
I often think of these small acts of defiance, 60 years on, It was so important for them to go back as free men. They had married and had children and grandchildren and they saw their families as proof that Hitler had not won.
Ten years later, I remember Zigi looking at the photo as he stood at the camp to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation. By then Bob and David had passed away. Zigi was painfully aware that the 70th anniversary was a milestone and that with each anniversary, the number of survivors was growing fewer.
Today, I am back again, another 10 years on, marking the 80th anniversary, standing alongside Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, who survived ghettos, Ravensbruck concentration camp, and Bergen-Belsen.
I cannot help but think of Zigi, who passed away two years ago; of Bob and David, who were here for the 60th anniversary; and of the million people murdered here simply because they were Jewish.
Being at Auschwitz is always a difficult and painful experience, and especially on the 80th anniversary.
There is the sorrow and the heartache that always comes from this place. But today His Majesty The King and world leaders will assemble here with over 1,000 journalists from around the world. The crimes that the Nazis hoped would never see the light of day are being laid out bare, for the whole world to see, as a reminder of what happened here.
Today, I am back again, another 10 years on, marking the 80th anniversary, standing alongside Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, who survived ghettos, Ravensbruck concentration camp, and Bergen-Belsen.
This year we mark the day against a backdrop of antisemitism the likes of which we have not seen since the end of the Holocaust. The hatred that led to Auschwitz, that the world hoped had been exposed to the light of day and would never again rear its head, had seeped into society and over the last 15 months has become bolder, more confident, more vocal and dangerous.
And of course, there is also a sense of time slipping away. When we marked the 60th anniversary, we knew that we would not always have survivors with us. When we marked the 70th anniversary we knew that survivors were growing older and frailer.
As we mark the 80th anniversary we do so knowing we are now at that critical juncture. We are no longer looking towards a distant future where survivors will not be with us. The Holocaust is moving from living memory.
This year is likely the last time that we will remember surrounded by a significant number of survivors. According to Auschwitz’s website, 300 survivors joined the commemoration a decade ago, this year 50.
So it falls on all of us to remember, to take on the mantle for the next generation. The survivors who have given so much of themselves to the next generation, who have shared their most painful memories, need to know that 80 years on, they are in safe hands.
As I stand at the camp today, I remember the words of Roman Kent, a survivor of the Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz-Birkenau. He said: “We survivors cannot – dare not – forget the millions who were murdered. For if we were to forget, the conscience of mankind would also be buried alongside the victims.”
Roman himself passed away in 2021. In his memory, in Zigi, David and Bob’s memory, and in the memory of all of those murdered by the Nazis, it is up to us to ensure that the world never forgets.
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