On 27 January 2010, we commemorate the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, the day on which soldiers of the Red Army liberated the survivors of this death camp. The name Auschwitz has since become a symbol of the genocide and the millions of victims of the Nazi regime who were stripped of their rights, persecuted, tormented, and murdered during National Socialism.

"On this day, we commemorate all those who fell victim to the Nazi regime: Jews, political dissidents, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, disabled persons, and other minorities. 27 January underlines our duty to draw necessary lessons from the darkest chapter in German history, to keep alive the memory of the events, and to resolutely combat historical revisionism and Holocaust denial. It is unacceptable that, 65 years after the fall of the Nazi reign of terror, far-right extremists spread their Nazi ideology and attempt to abuse our liberal rule-of-law state with their perfidious strategies and to undermine our democracy," said the Central Council's President, Dr. h.c. Charlotte Knobloch.

"We should never forget the consequences of the irresponsible silence of a large, too large, portion of the population. It was the lack of empathy, the indifference to the fate of other people, and the unwillingness to stand up for the values of a democratic and tolerant society that paved the way for the criminal Hitler regime. Therefore 27 January is not only a day of remembrance on which we, together with the survivors, remember the horrors of the past, but also a day that urges us to work together for a free, democratic, and tolerant future in Europe and in the world," the Central Council's President said.

Berlin, 27 January 2010 / 12 Shevat 5770