‘This Is Not Memory, This Is Now’: UN Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day as Leaders Warn of Repeating History

The United Nations General Assembly marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, honoring the six million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime. Yet, rather than a mere reflection on history, the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau became an inflection point for the critique of global inaction, with leaders and diplomats warning that the promise of “Never Again” is being hollowed out by a worldwide surge in antisemitism.

The observance brought together world leaders, survivors, and diplomats under the shadow of the ongoing fallout from the October 7 attacks. The event featured extensive addresses from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, and UN Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Public Information Melissa Fleming, who opened the ceremony with a haunting reflection on the cost of indifference.

UN Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Public Information Melissa Fleming set the tone for the gathering, framing the Holocaust not just as a tragedy of the past, but as a permanent scar on humanity.

“The Holocaust is devastating evidence of what happens when human rights are degraded, denied, and destroyed,” Fleming stated. She recounted the chilling scene described by a Soviet soldier upon the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945: “Wherever one looked, one saw piles of human bodies. In some places, the former prisoners, looking like living skeletons, sat or lay around.”

Fleming moved the audience by quoting Primo Levi, a survivor of Auschwitz III-Monowitz, who described the complex agony of liberation. “In the very hour in which every threat seemed to vanish, I was overcome by a new and greater pain,” she recited, quoting Levi. “The pain of exile, of my distant home, of my loneliness, of friends lost, of youth lost.”

She also brought the sheer scale of the horror down to the personal level, sharing the story of two young brothers, Emmanuel and Abram Rosenthal, who were photographed in Lithuania in 1934. “A month later, the Nazis murdered the little boys because they were Jewish,” Fleming said. “Emmanuel was two. Abram was five. They had a right to life.”

Following Fleming, Secretary-General António Guterres took the podium to emphasize that the lessons of the Holocaust remain a “living force” for the present day.

“The Holocaust, after all, is not only history. It is a warning,” Guterres told the hushed chamber. “A warning that hatred, when unleashed, can consume everything.”

Guterres spoke directly to the survivors in attendance, including Marion Blumenthal Lazan, acknowledging the personal nature of their loss. “We gather in solemn remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust,” he said. “They were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, grandparents and grandchildren. Six million Jews murdered just because they were Jewish.”
The Secretary-General’s address pivoted to the modern resurgence of anti-Jewish hate. “Today, that warning feels more urgent than ever. Antisemitism around the world is raging,” he declared, citing attacks on synagogues and the shattering of families. He noted that while the world is “haunted by the horrific terror attacks of October 7,” the gathering offered a glimpse of resilience.

“You are here because you choose hope over hate,” Guterres affirmed. “You choose remembrance as a living force; a shield against prejudice, a spark for justice, a pledge to protect every human being.”

He concluded with a sobering reminder of how genocide begins. “The Holocaust did not begin with killing. It began with words,” he warned. “Its architects telegraphed their evil intentions… This dark chapter of our common history reveals sobering truths: When those with power fail to act, evil goes unpunished.”

In one of the event’s most searing addresses, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon rejected the comfort of ritualistic remembrance, demanding instead that the UN and its member states confront their own complicity in the spread of hatred.

“We remember because memory matters, because education matters… But let me be honest with you today, remembrance alone is not enough,” Danon said, his voice echoing through the hall. “Because while we remember, Jews are attacked. While we speak, hatred is spreading… ‘Never Again’ cannot remain a slogan. It must become action. Now.”
Danon argued that “silence in the face of antisemitism is a moral failure”, specifically calling out the United Nations for allowing false narratives to flourish within its own walls. “When antisemitic lies are told in the halls of the UN, they receive an official stamp and turn into violence on the streets,” he asserted. “This is not freedom of expression; it is antisemitism.”
To illustrate the terrifying continuity between the 1940s and the present, Danon recounted the story of Holocaust survivor Sara Weinstein, who was present in the chamber. He described how, in 1942, Weinstein’s mother threw her body over her daughter to shield her from a hail of bullets during a village massacre. “Sarah’s mother threw herself on top of her… her mother was still protecting her daughter.”

“We wish this were only a memory to the Holocaust. It is not,” Danon said, drawing a parallel to the Hamas atrocities of October 7, where parents shielded children in identical fashion. “Hamas did not invent hatred of Jews… Their goal is not borders or compromise. It is extermination. The weapons are modern. The hatred is not.”

Danon then highlighted a recent tragedy in Australia to prove that this violence knows no borders. He told the story of Alexander Kleytman and his wife, Larissa; Holocaust survivors who were at Bondi Beach during Chanukah celebrations when they were murdered by Islamic terrorists.

“Alexander did what a Jewish mother had done in 1942… he shielded his wife with his body,” Danon recounted. “He was 87 years old. He was murdered protecting his wife… This is not memory. This is now.”

The Ambassador issued a challenge to the diplomats in the room to scrutinize the gap between antisemitic incidents and actual legal consequences in their home countries. “When you see that gap, do not explain it away,” he urged. “That gap is a measure of failure. It is a space where hatred grows.”

Danon mentioned that “For the first time, a testimony was heard here in Hebrew,” referring to Sara Weinstein’s speech.

General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock offered a perspective rooted in Germany’s historical responsibility. She recalled visiting a concentration camp as a student, a visit that left a “powerful impression” on her, and spoke of her meeting with survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan prior to the ceremony.

Quoting Simon Wiesenthal, she reminded the assembly that “for evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.”
“It is a duty to speak up, to stand up, and to defend the dignity and human rights of every member of our human family, everywhere, every day,” Baerbock concluded.
The ceremony concluded with Fleming inviting the assembly to light candles, a final visual testament to the millions of lives extinguished. “We honor the victims by remembering their humanity and defending the history,” Fleming said, bringing the event to a close.

The speeches and materials for this report were provided to Belaaz by Moshe Spern, head of the United Jewish Teachers and grandson of Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan.