Victims of the Holocaust remembered at United Nations
Listen /
disabled man at an exhibition on the plight of the Roma and Sinti minorities in Central and Eastern Europe
The United Nations on Friday held a ceremony to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust.
In a video message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to the people who risked their lives to rescue Jews and other victims of the slaughter by Nazis.
Mr. Ban said the commemoration is to celebrate those who had the courage to care and that this year's observance is meant to give those unsung heroes the regard they deserve.
"Throughout the Second World War, Jews, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war and others who failed to conform to Hitler's perverted ideology of Aryan perfection were systematically murdered in death camps such as Auschwitz Birkenau, but some were able to avoid the slaughter. They escaped because of few brave souls who risked their lives and their families to rescue Jews and other victims of persecution from almost certain death." (30")
The Secretary-General said that in a world where extremist acts of violence and hatred capture the headlines on an almost daily basis, people must remain ever vigilant.
He called for courage to care in order to build a safer, better world today.
Gerry Adams, United Nations.
Duration: 1’18″
