27 January 2010
65th Anniversary
of the Liberation of Auschwitz
West Midlands MEP, Nikki
Sinclaire, as an invited guest of the European Jewish Congress, took
part in events
to mark the 65th anniversary of
the liberation
of Auschwitz on 27 January 2010. The day also marked the annual Holocaust
Memorial Day.
Prior to the visit, which took place in temperatures of - 20 degrees,
a service was held in Krakow, entitled "Let my people live".
This was addressed by Polish President Lech Kacznski, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
and Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament. US President
Barak Obama addressed delegates via a personal video message.
Those
present included Holocaust
survivors, religious leaders and students.
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The theme of
the day's was "Remembering the past - Confronting Today's
Challenges".
Nikki, the only UK MEP attending the event, said "I was honoured
to have been invited to this humbling occasion; to see at first hand
the horrors of intolerance, hatred and violence. The lesson we must all
learn is that standing by while evil is perpetrated can never be right.
And if "Never Again" is to be more than a mere slogan or
empty phrase, we must accept that just marking a date is not enough
- The best
way to honour the victims of the Holocaust is to be vigilant to new
atrocities, however small, and bear witness to them".
