Events

On the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, UNESCO organizes an official ceremony to mark the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp.

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust : Official Ceremony
23 January 2025 - 6:30 pm - 23 January 2025 - 7:30 pm
Location: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
Rooms : Room I
Type : Ceremony
Arrangement type : In-Person
Language(s) : French English

The Holocaust profoundly affected countries in which crimes were perpetrated by Nazi Germany and their local collaborators with consequences throughout Europe and in many other parts of the world with universal implications for humanity. 
Eight decades after the genocide, UNESCO Member States continue to share a collective responsibility for addressing the residual trauma, maintaining effective remembrance policies, caring for historic sites, and promoting education, documentation and research about this horrendous event in human history. This responsibility includes educating about the causes, consequences and dynamics of genocide and other atrocity crimes to strengthen the resilience of learners against ideologies of hatred to prevent similar crimes in the future.  
2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp’s liberation, where over one million people were murdered. UNESCO Director-General will attend the Official Ceremony held on 27 January in Oświęcim at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. 
Marking this important anniversary, UNESCO organizes an Official Ceremony on the 23 January with a series of activities both centered around the historical site of Auschwitz-Birkenau as well as recalling the continued relevance to teach and learn about the Holocaust, globally. 
 

The event will include:

• An Official Ceremony with:   

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO
Eric de Rothschild, President, Mémorial de la Shoah 
Music by Wolfgang Holzmair & Olivier Godin
Holocaust survivor testimony

• “Campus XL” for pupils          
• A Symposium As the witnesses fall silent: Young generations and the Holocaust
• Exhibitions: Photographs from Auschwitz by Olivier Mériel, and Timeless Treasures: The Jewish Cultural Legacy through the eyes of Photographers.

Main objectives of the event

• Commemorate the victims and honor the survivors of the crimes committed by the Nazi regime and its collaborators and draw attention to the continued relevance of Holocaust education and remembrance. 
• Highlight the significance of Auschwitz-Birkenau as a historical site and place of remembrance, as well as bring attention to Holocaust memorial sites across Europe and the world as important places of learning. 
• Promote actions to counter Holocaust denial and distortion, and other contemporary forms of antisemitism. 

URL: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/international-day-commemoration-memory-victims-holocaust-official-ceremony