More than 15 months on from the 7 October terror attacks by Hamas in Israel, António Guterres said the UN will continue doing its “utmost to ensure it leads to the release of all hostages – since the beginning we have asked for the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages – and to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza”.

Every year on the day the concentration camps were liberated in 1945, the world unites to honor the memory of the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators, a commemoration that also extends to the Roma and Sinti communities, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ individuals, and all others who suffered from the systemic violence, torture, and genocide of the Nazi regime.

Lessons must never be forgotten

In the presence of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in the General Assembly Hall, the Secretary-General underscored the need for remembrance and emphasized that the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.

This year’s commemoration marks a milestone: 80 years since the Holocaust’s end, and 80 years of efforts to preserve the memory of its victims.

Underlying the courage of survivors in sharing their stories to ensuring that the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau and other concentration camps are never erased from history, Mr. Guterres added that the responsibility to ensure this history is never forgotten “belongs to every one of us”. “Remembrance is not only a moral act – remembrance is a call to action”, he said.

Combat hatred

As part of the United Nations’ ongoing efforts to combat hate speech, the commemoration highlighted the importance of educating future generations about the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

Highlighting the acclaimed writer Primo Levi’s words – an Auschwitz survivor, who urged humanity to “carve the knowledge into our hearts” – Mr. Guterres called on everyone to “speak-up against hate”, stand-up for the human rights of all, and “make those rights a reality”.

Defend human rights

The UN is committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was established in the wake of the Holocaust. In 1948, nations around the world united to affirm the inherent dignity and equality of all people, a direct response to the horrors of Nazi ideology.

Reminding that the document is a “pure expression of our shared humanity”, the UN chief said that “in dark times it remains a shining light”.

“Today, our world is fractured and dangerous”, Mr. Guterres warned once more – “80 years since the Holocaust’s end, antisemitism is still with us – fuelled by the same lies and loathing that made the Nazi genocide possible. And it is rising.”

Efforts to combat the growing tide of Holocaust denial, discrimination, and hate are also central to the United Nations, which has recently launched an Action Plan on Antisemitism to enhance its efforts to educate, promote truth, and resist efforts to distort historical facts.

Calling for widespread condemnation of antisemitism “wherever and whenever it appears”, Mr. Guterres said that promoting education, combating lies and speaking the truth are key – and that in days of division, all must “hold fast to our common humanity”.

“We will never forget. And we will never waver in that fight”, the UN chief concluded, leaving the podium to the survivors who were there to share their memories.

Prayer for peace

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told the commemoration that “it is time to acknowledge challenging our right to exist is not diplomacy, it is plain antisemitism.”

He said 80 years after the Holocaust, he stood in the General Assembly “with deep faith and hope. Our nation rose from the flames of the crematorium not to live forever by the sword, but to build, to repair, to add light, to heal.”

He added that he hoped peace agreements could be reached between Israel and its neighbours across the region “with all peoples of the Middle East, Israelis, Palestinians and all others”, living peacefully side by side.

On this historic day, we must commit to joining hands to defeat darkness and hatred and work together to ensure building of a shared future. This is the vow we must share. All of us. The family of nations – that what happened once will never happen again.”

Roma survivor

Dumitru Miclescu, Roma survivor of the Holocaust, flew from Budapest to participate at the ceremony in General Assembly Hall on Monday.

Supported by his niece Izabela Tiberiade, he told his story: “I am here not just for myself, but for all the Roma who suffered during the Holocaust and did not have the chance to be heard.”

A survivor of the terror camps in Transnistria, he was forced into trains and deported when he was just an eight-year-old boy in Romania, along with his family.

Building a world without racism

“I will never forget those moments when we were gathered into the trains. Many people died on the trains before we even arrived. Those who reached the concentration camps suffered even more: forced labor, starvation, disease, and constant terror. Death was a daily presence,” he said.

Acknowledging the lack of support for the few Roma who survived and returned home, Mr. Miclescu said that being at the UN was “an important step toward recognizing history” but there was still much to be done.

“Allow me to say to all the young people listening to my story: I ask you to learn about your history. I hope you will build a world without racism,” he concluded.

Never forget

Marianne Muller who was just a baby during the Holocaust, also took the podium to share her family’s story. Accompanied by her four children and grandchildren, she said: “they are my personal answer to Hitler”.

Stressing that antisemitism is rising all over the world, Ms. Muller called on the world to remember that the Holocaust and its horrors “all happened only 80 years ago.”

Marianne Muller addresses the Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights ceremony in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

‘Don’t be neutral towards human suffering’

At a ceremony in Geneva, Nazi death camp survivor Ivan Lefkovits shared harrowing testimony of his experiences on Monday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, with a timeless message for present and future generations: “Don’t be neutral, especially not towards human suffering.”

Recalling the murder of his father and brother, both victims of Hitler’s mission to wipe out Jews, 88-year-old Mr. Lefkovits noted that many European countries subscribed to the Nazi leader’s views.

Mr. Lefkovits was seven years old when he was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp in November 1944; he spent the last months of the war in Bergen-Belsen camp, where he almost died from starvation and thirst.

Today he urges younger generations to study history “not necessarily to learn, but to understand” why the Holocaust happened.

The findings from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria detail crimes against humanity and war crimes that left a legacy of trauma for countless Syrians, representing some of the worst violations of international law committed during more than a decade of brutal conflict.

“We stand at a critical juncture. The caretaker government and future Syrian authorities can now ensure these crimes are never repeated,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission.

“We hope our findings from almost 14 years of investigations will help end impunity for these patterns of abuse.”

The report, titled Web of Agony: Arbitrary Detention, Torture and Ill-Treatment in the Syrian Arab Republic, draws on over 2,000 testimonies, including accounts from more than 550 survivors of torture.

Torture chambers, mass graves

The fall of the Assad regime last month and subsequent release of prisoners have been pivotal for many Syrians, but for tens of thousands of families, the agony persists. The discovery of mass graves has deepened fears for those whose loved ones remain missing.

In December and January, Commission teams visited several grave sites and former detention facilities, including Sednaya Military Prison and branches of the former intelligence services in Damascus.

While significant amounts of evidence and documentation had been destroyed, some materials were preserved, offering a glimmer of hope for families seeking answers.

“For Syrians who did not find their loved ones among the freed, this evidence, alongside testimonies of freed detainees, may be their best hope to uncover the truth about missing relatives,” said Commissioner Lynn Welchman.

“We commend the new authorities for their commitment to protecting mass graves and evidence and encourage further efforts, with the support of relevant Syrian civil society and international actors.”

The report outlines harrowing accounts of abuse, including severe beatings, electric shocks, rape, mutilation and prolonged psychological and physical torture.

Survivors and witnesses described dire prison conditions including malnutrition, disease and injuries left untreated. Some detainees were executed, while others succumbed to their injuries in overcrowded, unsanitary cells.

A path to justice

Having gained access to Syria for the first time since 2011, the Commission plans to expand its investigations with unprecedented access to sites and survivors who no longer fear reprisals.

The report emphasises the importance of safeguarding evidence and archives, calling for coordinated efforts with Syrian civil society and international actors.

“Cases brought before national courts outside Syria, relying on the principle of universal jurisdiction, have led to important convictions of mid- and lower-level perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said Commissioner Hanny Megally.

“We now hope to see credible national justice initiatives, in which survivors and families can play a central role. We stand ready to assist alongside Syrian human rights and family associations and our UN partners.”

Independent investigators

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was established in August 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council, with a mandate to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011.

The Council also tasked the Commission with establishing the facts and circumstances surrounding alleged crimes and identifying those responsible, in an effort to hold them accountable.

Global action for returnees

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi concluded a visit to Syria on Monday, calling for urgent international support to aid those returning home.

Since September, over 500,000 refugees have made the journey, but they face overwhelming challenges: destroyed homes, shattered infrastructure and widespread poverty, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

The agency is working with Syrian caretaker authorities and neighbouring countries to support returns, provide legal aid, transportation and cash assistance.

Families returning to cities like Aleppo described harsh realities, such as limited access to electricity and water, emphasising the urgent need for investment in healthcare, education and employment.

Act now

“This is a pivotal moment,” Mr. Grandi said.

“The world must act now to support Syria’s recovery. Cooperation between neighbouring countries, donors and the Syrian caretaker authorities is essential to bring much-needed peace and stability to Syria and the entire region.”

UNHCR estimates that 27 per cent of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, plan to return home within the next year – an increase from less than two per cent before the collapse of the regime.

A new book on their work underlines the chaos of the time, and the difficult decisions they had to make, knowing that for every person they saved, many more would be killed.

Saints and Liars, by Debórah Dwork, the Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the City University of New York Graduate Center, tells the stories of rescue workers in five key cities as the situation on the ground grew increasingly dire.

At the launch ahead of the  International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust marked annually on 27 January, Tracey Petersen, the manager of the UN Holocaust Education Outreach Programme, interviewed Debórah Dwork at UN Headquarters, and began by asking her about the book’s title.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length

Debórah Dwork: I called it Saints and Liars because that’s what these people were. They did amazing things, in a non-religious sense. They did miraculous things. They saved people either by helping them to move on, get to sea, find a safe harbour, or by feeding, clothing and sheltering them.

And at the same time, nearly all of them lied. They broke rules and played fast and loose with the truth in order to accomplish their goals.

Tracey Petersen: Why did you write this book?

Debórah Dwork: I wanted to tell the story of Americans who went to Europe when everyone who was worried about danger was trying to go in the opposite direction. Their first idea was relief activities, but their mandate morphed to trying to effect rescue. I wanted to know who they were and what prompted them.

We start in Prague, 1939, before the war was declared and well before the United States entered the war. What prompted Waitstill and Martha Sharp? They were a pair of married Unitarians sent to Czechoslovakia by their church.

The situation grew worse and worse for political opponents of the Nazi regime and for Jews. And yet the Sharps stayed on to help and began to engage in illegal activities in the hope of saving lives.

Tracey Petersen: Did the outside world in general know what was happening in Czechoslovakia at that time?

Debórah Dwork: The loss of the Sudetenland region was part of the Munich Pact, an agreement signed by the major leaders of Europe, who gave away a whole chunk of Czechoslovakia without a single shot being fired.

As you can imagine, this was the stuff of headlines, and it was the Munich Pact which first galvanized the Unitarian leadership in Boston to say “we’ve got to do something: the Germans have taken Sudetenland. Refugees are fleeing into Prague. They need help. They need clothing. They need shelter. They need medical care. They need food”.

Tracey Petersen: How dangerous was the work of these American aid workers?

Debórah Dwork: Waitstill Sharp said that Yankees like to skate on thin ice. Just one of the ways in which his work endangered him was that he did illegal currency transactions, because raising money to pay for the rescue activities was very difficult. But if the regime had learned about this he would have been at least imprisoned and probably tortured.

Tracey Petersen: Why did refugees go to Shanghai and where were they coming from?

Debórah Dwork: Even before the war, Jews and political dissidents in Germany and Nazi-occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia sought desperately to leave Europe and to get to some place of safety.

As it happened, Shanghai was just such a place because no visa was required for them to land there. So, by the time war did break out in January, in September 1939, some 20,000 refugees had collected in Shanghai, which had been under Japanese rule since 1937.

US Holocaust Memorial Museum/Yad Vashem

Jews from Subcarpathian Rus are subjected to a selection process on a ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland.

The US State Department and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) sent Laura Margolis to Shanghai to help them move on to their next destination, but the war intervened, and she ended up staying in a city under occupation with very few resources to help them meet their needs. They needed medical care, food and shelter. The children needed education. Somehow, she had to try to meet the needs of this community that was cut off from the rest of the world

Tracey Petersen: The numbers are staggering. You had women, children, refugees, incredible terror, anxiety, being turned down for visas… did the aid workers reflect on whether they were possibly being swayed by their emotions and maybe helping some people when they should have been helping others? Is there any sense of their turmoil?

Debórah Dwork: Definitely. There were thousands upon thousands of people who needed help. When you wake up in the morning, whose case are you going to attend to? What were the criteria?

The Unitarians did have specific criteria: they wanted to rescue people who would help to reestablish democratic governments after the war was over. Of course, they were mostly male, mostly middle class or upper middle class. Mostly well-educated. That was the idea. But life on the ground had its own dynamic. And in Prague Martha and Waitstill ended up helping all manner of people.

The Quakers, by contrast, had no such calculus. Their goal was to help everyone who required help. This was a sharp and distinct difference between the Unitarians agenda and the Quakers agenda. In fact, they annoyed each other with the Unitarians saying the Quakers had no principles, and the Quakers saying the Unitarians had no principles.

Tracey Petersen: In many ways these stories reveal that a successful rescue is sometimes just a question of luck and timing.

Debórah Dwork: We all know the degree to which the unpredictable and the irrational affect our lives. Luck, timing, fortuitous circumstances, passion, sympathies, antipathies. But when we think about the past, we strip those factors away. We think things happened for a reason. Sometimes they did happen for a reason, but sometimes they happened by accident.

Let’s hope that we can learn from these events and say action is possible, activities are possible, initiative is possible.