United Nations Radio

"It is not enough to remember, honour and grieve for the dead. As we do, we must also educate, nurture and care for the living. We must foster in our children a sense of responsibility, so that they can build societies that protect and promote the rights of all citizens. We must instill in them a respect for diversity before intolerance has a chance to take root, and a sense of vigilance in case it threatens to do so. We must give them the courage and tools they need to make the right choices and to act in the face of evil."

The words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his address to the third annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, 27 January. The date of 27 January marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The United Nations commemorates the Day with ceremonies and activities at United Nations Headquarters in New York and at UN offices around the world focused on the theme "Remembrance and Beyond." But more important than the ceremonies are the lessons learned from remembering that period of history 1939 -1945 and honoring the memory of the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. The UN hopes that these lessons will also help prevent future acts of genocide. In this edition of Perspective we look at this year's commemoration and what it meant to the many survivors and their children who traveled to New York to participate. What also contributed to making this year's observance special was the fact that 90 per cent of the youth orchestra, the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony Orchestra, of Tel Aviv University, was second and third generation Holocaust survivors. The Orchestra was conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta.

All the survivors had moving stories of death, illness, disease, loss of home, family and friends to share; but the sadness and pain of their stories was intertwined with tales of hope, courage and enduring faith and so many lessons learned. We hope you will listen not only to this programme but to the individual interviews with survivors that we will upload in the weeks ahead.

Producer: Gail Bindley-Taylor Sainte

(duration: 20'00")