International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today, the 27th of January, we remember the horrific events and commemorate the millions of people who were tortured and massacred in the name of a sickening, extremist and racist ideology.

The horrendous acts that humans can commit might lead us to despair, but while humans may be capable of the worst, they are also capable of the best: love, solidarity, generosity and even heroism and selflessness.

No one should be unaware of what happened here in Europe but we also all have a duty to ensure that it never happens again. And we must remember that nothing can ever be taken for granted, not even peace.

This is an opportunity to emphasise, once again, that the European project primarily exists for this very reason. It is a project of peace, values and well-being. The complete opposite of war, savagery and precariousness. Respect for minorities, pluralism, tolerance, non-discrimination and diversity are enshrined in the Treaty and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The complete opposite of hatred, racism and anti-Semitism.

There is a popular French song which starts with the words "What would have I done had I been born in 1918?" and ends "as long as I don't have to choose sides". The song is about how people can be manipulated. Perhaps most people. Those who are not determined, from the very beginning, to side with the best or who join forces with the worst. And the song is therefore also about the responsibility incumbent on anyone who can influence others.

Not only do we have to choose sides; we have to lead the way, especially now that the "foul beast" has returned.

We are all familiar with the horrific images and accounts of what happened. The nightmare continues to haunt us, both day and night, and out tears cannot but flow when we think of the terrible fate that befell the victims of this cruelty. We owe it to the victims not only to pay them homage; we need to find the same conviction and strength that they had within them, to prevent such savagery occurring again.