Pope Benedict Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day

(27 Jan 10 - RV) On Wednesday during his General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI called attention to the “Day of Remembrance” marked January 27^th worldwide in honour of the victims of the Holocaust.


In comments in Italian he said: “Sixty years ago, on 27 January 1945, the gates of Nazi concentration camp in the Polish city of Oswiecim, known by its German name of Auschwitz, were opened and the few survivors were liberated. This event and the testimonies of survivors revealed to the world the horror of crimes of unprecedented cruelty, committed in the extermination camps established by Nazi Germany”.


“Today, we celebrate the "Day of Remembrance" in memory of all victims of these crimes, especially the planned annihilation of the Jews, and in honour of those who, risking their lives, have protected the persecuted and opposed to this mad homicide. With deep emotion we think of the countless victims of blind racial and religious hatred, who suffered deportation, imprisonment, death in those abhorrent and inhuman places. May the memory of these facts, particularly the tragedy of the Holocaust that affected the Jewish people, inspire increased conviction of the dignity of every person, so that all men perceive themselves as one great family. Almighty God enlighten hearts and minds, so that such tragedies never happen again!