The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola participated in the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, emphasising that we can never remain silent in the face of anti-Semitism, intolerance or injustice.

The Commemoration took place at the Memorial and Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.

Standing alongside survivors and world leaders from over 40 nations, President Metsola described the Nazi extermination camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau as the scene of one of the darkest chapters in human history. She said that today’s commemoration is a reminder of what must never be forgotten. “We owe it to those who perished, and to those who survived, to remember: every name, every story, every life lost.”

“Ours is the last generation with the privilege of knowing Holocaust survivors, some of whom are with us today. Their voices, their courage, and their memories are a bridge to a past that we must keep alive. It is our responsibility to ensure that their stories endure,” underlined President Metsola.

The President of the European Parliament said, “we will never remain silent in the face of anti-Semitism, intolerance, or injustice. Never again.”

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will hold a special Holocaust remembrance plenary session.

Auschwitz, also known as Auschwitz-Birkenau, was the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp. The camp was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps. It is estimated that the SS and police deported at least 1.3 million people to the Auschwitz camp complex between 1940 and 1945. Of these deportees, approximately 1.1 million people were murdered.