Meeting of the Parliament 28 January 2020
I thank all members who will support this important Scottish Government motion, which enables the Parliament to have a full debate as we stand together to mark Holocaust memorial day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
This is an important anniversary. Of course, it marks the significant passage of time that has elapsed since that moment of liberation. However, it also reminds us that the numbers of those around the world with direct lived experience of that hellish extermination camp are fewer. The opportunity for survivors to bear witness—as they did when the world united yesterday to mark Holocaust memorial day—is crucial, because the message of suffering, pain, trauma and human cruelty must never, ever be forgotten.
The testimonies that were broadcast around the world yesterday from Auschwitz, which have been published in news reports and on social media, powerfully remind us of the human impact of the Holocaust—the lives cut short, the potential unfulfilled, the families ripped and torn apart, and the courage and bravery of those who survived and who seek to ensure that that suffering informs a better future for everyone.
We must also remember the dark void of the untold stories—stories that will never be told and the darkness that we do not know about. As Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel reminded us:
“to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time”.
It is therefore important to remember those human stories of survival and to remember and respect all those who did not survive.
In so many ways, the numbers associated with the Holocaust are unimaginable. Some 17 million people were executed—6 million of them simply because of their Jewish faith. That unspeakable persecution by the Nazis also included gay, disabled, Gypsy and Roma people—and anyone else who was viewed as being different.