United States Marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Washington (PNA/Xinhua) – A commemoration was organized here Tuesday to mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenaue, with about 100 survivors, primarily Jews, of the Nazi crimes during the Second World War in attendance.

“Everyone can do something, something powerful to prevent it happens again,” said Arthur Berger, a senior advisor of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum based in Washington D.C., where the ceremony was held, with tears shed among audience.

Louise Lawrence, a survivor and a volunteer of the Museum, said that it’s very important to let the next generations to know the history.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who is visiting Saudi Arabia to pay respects after King Abdullah’s death, also issued a statement on both occasions.

“This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made confronting this terrible chapter in human history and on our continuing efforts to end genocide,” Obama said.

The president called the recent Paris terrorist attacks “a painful reminder of our obligation to condemn and combat rising anti-Semitism in all its forms, including the denial or trivialization of the Holocaust.”

“Today we come together and commit, to the millions of murdered souls and all survivors, that it must never happen again,” said Obama. (PNA/Xinhua) FPV/EBP