Hundreds gather in Amsterdam to mark 81 years since Auschwitz liberation
Hundreds of people gathered Sunday in Amsterdam to mark 81 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi extermination camp of World War II. The annual Holocaust commemoration included a silent march to the Spiegelmonument Nooit Meer Auschwitz by Jan Wolkers in Wertheimpark, where officials and citizens reflected on both historical and modern threats of hatred.
Participants included caretaker Prime Minister Schoof, chairs of the Eerste Kamer and the Tweede Kamer, Thom van Campen and Mei Li Vos, and Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema.
Mayor Halsema focused on the ongoing suffering of children worldwide, saying that even more than 80 years after the war, “children are still being killed, abducted, and used in wars and conflicts in which they have no part or role.”
Attendees cited a variety of reasons for attending. One woman said, “We are here to make sure the Sinti and Roma are not forgotten. We have no graves of our family to visit,” NOS reports. Another visitor said, “You see populism and far-right extremism everywhere, in every country in Europe and also in America. The Auschwitz commemoration is also a way to stay vigilant.”
Linda Clewits, chair of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee, drew connections between the past and present in what was described as a fiery speech. “Agreements meant to keep the world safe have proven fragile. It now seems to be only about the law of the strongest, the undermining of the international legal order, and the erosion of institutions,” she said. She cited documentary filmmaker Dror Moreh, warning, “Anti-immigrant sentiment and hatred of foreigners are entering the political mainstream. Hate spreads online at a speed Joseph Goebbels could only have dreamed of.”
While some attendees expressed concern about the state of society, others voiced hope. One visitor said, “Hopefully we can all show that there are still more good people than people with bad intentions.”
