Holocaust commemoration
Scholz calls for a fight against human hatred
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) emphasizes that today’s democracy is based on the central commitment “Never again” (archive image). photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Today is International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust. For Chancellor Olaf Scholz there is reason to say: Never again is now.
On the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Federal Chancellor calls Olaf Scholz (SPD) called for a determined fight against anti-Semitism and racism. “‘Never again’ is every day,” he says in his weekly video “Kanzler compact”, which is published today. “January 27th calls to us: Stay visible! Stay audible! Against anti-Semitism, against racism, against misanthropy – and for our democracy.”
On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops liberated the survivors of the German Auschwitz extermination camp. The Nazis murdered more than a million people there, mostly Jews. Since 1996, the date has been celebrated in Germany as Holocaust Remembrance Day. In October 2005, the United Nations declared January 27th Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Scholz emphasizes in the video that today’s democracy is based on the central commitment “Never again”. “No more exclusion and disenfranchisement, never more racial ideology and dehumanization, never more dictatorship.” Ensuring this is the central task of the state. “That’s why we fight every form of anti-Semitism, terrorist propaganda and misanthropy.”
Scholz: Cohesion makes democracy strong
The Chancellor once again welcomes the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, with which the former NPD (now Die Heimat) was defunded this week. And he welcomes the numerous large demonstrations against right-wing extremism in the last few days and weeks. “Our country is currently on its feet. Millions of citizens are taking to the streets.” He emphasizes that it is the solidarity of the democrats that makes democracy strong.
“Never again” demands everyone’s vigilance. “Our democracy is not God-given. It is man-made. It is strong when we support it. And it needs us when it is attacked.” Neo-Nazi networks and the spread of right-wing populism are not a coincidence that one simply has to accept.