Eighty years ago, 7,000 people were finally liberated from Auschwitz. Free at last, after years of unimaginable misery. In the years before, 1.1 million people had been murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz alone – mostly Jews.
As we commemorate 80 years since Britain and her allies defeated the Nazis and ended the Holocaust, we must never forget those appalling atrocities. We must never forget how six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis; how so much inhumanity was inflicted on humans by humans.
We must remember, so that we try harder to stop it happening again, as it has so tragically in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and elsewhere. We must be vigilant in our opposition to antisemitism, hatred, discrimination and oppression, and vigilant in defence of peace, human rights – and compassion.
A few months ago, we marked with great sorrow the passing of Lily Ebert, who was deported to Auschwitz when she was 20. She was truly inspirational – giving hope to so many after enduring such unspeakable horror.
Lily wrote about a banknote, given to her by an American soldier after the liberation. He’d written on it “A start to a new life. Good luck and happiness”.
She wrote “This was something I knew I’d keep forever, a reminder, after all the cruelty we’d endured, that people could be compassionate. There was some hope and humanity left in the world.”
We must remember that too, and live up to the positive vision Lily could see, even after so much darkness.