The Embassy of the State of Israel in Ethiopia in collaboration with the German Embassy and the United Nations commemorated the “International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust” and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the UNECA on January 31st.
The Ambassador of the State of Israel H.E. Mr. Raphael Morav, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E. Mrs. Brita Wagener and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Aeneas Chuma opened the ceremony with remarks followed by a testimony by Holocaust Witness Dr. Shmuel Rothbard.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Morav said:
“On this day, we honor the memory of the millions of individuals – the mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, friends and neighbors – who lost their lives during a time of unparalleled depravity and inhumanity. . . We are determined to confront hatred and extremism. We must speak out and stand up against those who target anyone who prays differently, looks different or loves differently”.
The Holocaust Witness Shmuel Rothbard was born in 1933 in Krakow, Poland. After surviving several German “Aktions” in the ghetto, Shmuel and his sisters, Genia and Hela, were hidden in the small apartment belonging to Henryk Pstrusinski, an officer in the Polish underground army (A.K)., until Krakow’s liberation by the Soviet Red Army, in January 1945. After the war Shmuel and his sisters managed Shmuel Rothbardto reunite with their mother in Krakow but sadly their father was murdered in Mauthausen Concentration Camp in January 1945. Shmuel is married to Frida (Fredja). They live in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel and have three adult children and five grand-children.
The Event was attended by high level diplomatic corps, government officials, international organization representatives and students from the German school, Italian School and School of Tomorrow.
The day, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, was designated by the United Nations in 2005 as an international day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Holocaust. Since then, it has become a fixture in the political and educational calendars in scores of countries the world over.
Rejecting any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, the General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/7) by consensus on November 1, 2005. The resolution condemns "without reserve" all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, whenever they occur.
The resolution declared that the United Nations would designate 27 January - the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp - as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, and urged Member States to develop educational programs to instill the memory of the tragedy in future generations to prevent genocide from occurring again. It requested the United Nations Secretary-General to establish an outreach program on the "Holocaust and the United Nations", as well as institute measures to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance and education, in order to help prevent future acts of genocide.