International Holocaust Remembrance Day: historical facts. On the day of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust, the world remembers one of the most tragic pages in the history of mankind

According to the UN resolution, tomorrow is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Well, a good reason to remember how the Holocaust propaganda bubble was inflated. In principle, an educated person should already be ashamed to believe in the official version of this global scam.

On November 1, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution in which it decided that January 27 would be observed annually as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In connection with this event, we will conduct a small lesson on the Holocaust, using Mark Weber's article "Auschwitz: Myths and Facts".

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topical note

The myth of the Holocaust is exaggerated in the world media in connection with the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland that “Auschwitz was liberated for the most part by Ukrainian units with Soviet troops”

Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet soldiers, and this date is very important for Russia, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview with Bild. Thus, the head of the German Foreign Ministry clearly outlined the position of the German authorities in the scandal around the words of the Polish colleague Grzegorz Schetyna.

“Germany recognizes its historical responsibility for the Holocaust and for the Nazi crimes against millions of people in Poland, in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere,” Steinmeier concluded.

Recall that the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland that “Auschwitz was liberated for the most part by Ukrainian units with Soviet troops” caused indignation not only in Moscow, but also in Warsaw itself.

“The survivors of Auschwitz would have kicked Schetyna in the face,” wrote one of the readers of Gazeta Wyborcza, commenting on the words of the minister. Other commentators also reproached the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry for ignorance of history and political bias. And the political scientist Mateusz Piskorski called Schetyna's statement "an attempt to justify the absurdities of the Polish pro-Banderist foreign policy."

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History Revision Institute

Almost everyone has heard of Auschwitz, a World War II German concentration camp where masses of prisoners - mostly Jews - were allegedly exterminated in gas chambers. Auschwitz is widely believed to be the worst Nazi extermination center. However, the terrible reputation of the camp does not correspond to the facts.

Scholars disagree with the Holocaust story

To the surprise of many, more and more historians and engineers are questioning the generally accepted history of Auschwitz. These "revisionist" scholars do not deny the fact that a large number of Jews were deported to this camp, or that many died there, especially from typhus and other diseases. However, the compelling evidence they present proves that Auschwitz was not an extermination center and that the stories about the massacres in the "gas chambers" are a myth.

Auschwitz camps

The Auschwitz camp complex was established in 1940 in the central-southern part of Poland. Between 1942 and mid-1944 many Jews were deported there.

The main camp was known as Auschwitz I. Birkenau or Auschwitz II was allegedly the main extermination center, and Monowitz or Auschwitz III was a major industrial center for the production of gasoline from coal. In addition, there were dozens of smaller camps adjacent to them, which worked for the war economy.

Four million victims?

At the post-war Nuremberg Trials, the Allies claimed that the Germans massacred four million people at Auschwitz. This figure, invented by Soviet communists, was accepted uncritically for many years. For example, she often appeared in major American newspapers and magazines. /one/

Today, no serious historian, even those who generally accept the history of extermination, believes this figure. Israeli Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer said in 1989 that it was time to finally admit that the well-known figure of four million was a deliberate myth. In July 1990, the State Museum of Auschwitz in Poland, along with the Israeli Holocaust center Yad Vashem, suddenly announced that all had died there, probably one million people (Jews and non-Jews) . None of these institutions said how many of them were actually killed, nor was the estimated number of people supposedly gassed. /2/ Renowned Holocaust historian Gerald Reitlinger estimates that approximately 700,000 Jews perished in Auschwitz. Recently, Holocaust historian Jean-Claude Pressac estimated that about 800,000 people died in Auschwitz, of which 630,000 were Jews. Although even these downwardly corrected figures remain incorrect, they show that the history of Auschwitz has changed enormously over time.

Ridiculous stories

At one time, it was most seriously stated that Jews were systematically killed by electric shocks in Auschwitz. American newspapers, citing the testimony of a Soviet eyewitness from the liberated Auschwitz, told their readers in February 1945 that the methodical Germans killed Jews there using "an electric conveyor belt, on which hundreds of people could be electrocuted at the same time, and then transported to ovens. They burned almost instantly, producing fertilizer for nearby cabbage fields." /four/

In addition, at the Nuremberg Tribunal, the chief US prosecutor, Robert Jackson, alleged that the Germans used "a newly invented device that allows you to instantly 'evaporate' 20,000 Jews in Auschwitz, while leaving no trace of them." /5/ Today, no prominent historian takes such fictional stories seriously.

"Confession" Hess

The key Holocaust document is the April 5, 1946 "confession" of the former commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hess, presented by the US Prosecution at the main Nuremberg Trials. /6/

While it is still widely cited as undeniable proof that Auschwitz was an extermination camp, the claim was actually false, obtained under torture.

Many years after the war, British military intelligence officer Bernard Clark told how he and five other British soldiers tortured the former commandant, extracting a "confession" from him. Hess himself explained his torment in the following words: “Yes, of course, I signed a statement that I killed 2.5 million Jews. I could just as well say that there were 5 million of these Jews. There are ways by which you can get any recognition whether it is true or not." /7/

Even historians who generally accept the Holocaust extermination story today admit that many of Hess's "sworn" claims are simply lies. For this reason alone, no serious historian-scholar today claims that 2.5 or 3 million people died in Auschwitz.

In addition, Hess's "affidavit" states that Jews were exterminated by gas in the summer of 1941 in three other camps: Belzek, Treblinka and Wolzek. The "Wolseck" camp mentioned by Hess is a complete fabrication. Such a camp has never existed and its name is no longer mentioned in Holocaust literature. Moreover, those who believe in the Holocaust legend now claim that the gassing of Jews began in Auschwitz, Treblinka and Belzek only in 1942.

Lack of documentary evidence

After the war, the Allies confiscated many thousands of secret German documents relating to Auschwitz. None of them mentions a plan or program of extermination. When it comes to facts, the story of the extermination cannot be reconciled with documentary evidence.

Unemployed Jewish prisoners

It is often claimed that all Jews who were unable to work were immediately killed in Auschwitz. Old, young, sick, or weakened Jews are said to have been gassed as soon as they arrived, and those temporarily left to live were worked to death.

However, in fact, the evidence shows that a very large percentage of Jewish prisoners were unable to work and yet were not killed. For example, in a telegram dated September 4, 1943, the head of the Human Resources Section of the SS Economic and Administrative Office (WVHA) reported that out of 25,000 Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz only 3581 were able to work , and the rest of the Jewish prisoners - about 21,500 or about 86% - were unable to work. /eight/

This was also confirmed in a secret report on "security measures at Auschwitz" dated April 5, 1944, by the Chief of the SS concentration camp system Oswald Pohl, sent to the Head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler. Paul reported that there were 67,000 prisoners in the entire Auschwitz camp complex, of whom 18,000 were hospitalized or disabled. In the Auschwitz II camp (Birkenau), supposedly the main extermination center, there were 36,000 prisoners, mostly women, of whom "approximately 15,000 were incapacitated." /9/

These two documents simply cannot be reconciled with the history of the Auschwitz extermination.

Evidence shows that Auschwitz-Birkenau was established mainly as a camp for disabled Jews, including the sick and old, as well as those who were waiting to be sent to other camps. This conclusion was reached by Dr. Arthur Butz of Northwestern University, who also says that this was the reason for the unusually high mortality rate there. /ten/

Princeton University history professor Arno Mayer, who is Jewish, admits in a recent book on the "Final Solution" that more Jews died in Auschwitz from typhus and other "natural" causes than were executed. /eleven/

Anne Frank

Probably the most famous prisoner of Auschwitz was Anne Frank, who became famous all over the world thanks to her famous diary. However, few people know that thousands of Jews, including Anna and her father Otto Frank, "survived" Auschwitz.

This 15-year-old girl and her father were deported from Holland to Auschwitz in September 1944. A few weeks later, in view of the advance of the Soviet army, Anna, along with many other Jews, was evacuated to the Bergen-Belsen camp, where she died of typhus in March 1945.

Her father contracted typhus in Auschwitz and was sent to the camp hospital for treatment. He was one of thousands of sick and weakened Jews left there by the Germans when they left the camp in January 1945, shortly before it was captured by Soviet troops. He died in Switzerland in 1980.

If the Germans had planned to kill Anne Frank and her father, they would not have survived Auschwitz. Their fate, though tragic, cannot be reconciled with the history of extermination.

Allied propaganda

The stories of gassing at Auschwitz are largely based on the oral statements of former Jewish prisoners who themselves did not personally see evidence of the extermination. Their claims are understandable, since rumors of gassing at Auschwitz were widespread.

Allied planes dropped a huge number of leaflets in Polish and German on Auschwitz and the surrounding areas, which claimed that people were being gassed in this camp. The gas story of Auschwitz, which was an important part of the Allied war propaganda, was also broadcast over the radio to Europe. /12/

Survivor testimonies

Former prisoners confirmed that they saw no evidence of the extermination at Auschwitz.

Austrian Maria Fanherwaarden testified in Toronto District Court in March 1988 about her time at Auschwitz. She was interned at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942 for sexual intercourse with a Polish prisoner. As she was being taken by train to the camp, a gypsy woman told her and others that they would all be gassed at Auschwitz.

Upon arrival, Maria and the other women were told to undress and go to a spacious concrete room with no windows and shower. The horrified women thought that they would be killed now. However, instead of gas, water came out of the shower heads.

Maria confirmed that Auschwitz was not a resort. She witnessed the death of many prisoners from diseases, especially from typhus, some even committed suicide. But she saw no evidence of massacres, no gassing, no evidence of any plan of extermination being carried out. /13/

A Jewish woman named Marika Frank arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau from Hungary in July 1944, when 25,000 Jews were allegedly gassed and burned daily. She also testified after the war, that she did not see or hear anything about the "gas chambers" at the time she was there. She heard "gas" stories only later. /14/

Released prisoners

Auschwitz prisoners who had served their sentences were released and returned to their home countries. If Auschwitz were really a secret extermination center, then the Germans, of course, they would not release prisoners who "knew" what was happening in the camp . /15/

Himmler orders to reduce mortality

In response to the increase in deaths among prisoners as a result of disease, especially typhus, the German authorities responsible for the camps adopted stringent disease control measures.

The head of the SS Camp Administration sent a directive dated 28 December 1942 to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. It sharply criticized the high death rate of prisoners due to disease and ordered that "camp doctors should use all means at their disposal to reduce the death rate in the camps." Moreover, the directive provided that:

The camp physicians should, more frequently than in the past, check the nutrition of the prisoners and, together with the administration, make recommendations to the camp commandants... The camp physicians should see to it that working conditions and workplaces are improved as far as possible.

Finally, the directive emphasized that "the Reichsfuehrer SS [Heinrich Himmler] has ordered that the death rate must be absolutely reduced." /16/

Internal regulations of German camps

The official internal regulations of the German camps clearly show that Auschwitz was not an extermination center. These rules included the following provisions: /17/

Those arriving at the camp must undergo a thorough medical examination, and in case of doubt [about their health] must be quarantined for observation.

Prisoners who complain of being unwell must be examined by the camp doctor on the same day. If necessary, the doctor must take the prisoner to a hospital for professional treatment.

The camp doctor should regularly inspect the kitchen to check the preparation of the food and the quality of the food. Report any deficiencies to the camp commandant.

Particular attention should be paid to the treatment of victims of accidents so that the productivity of prisoners is not reduced.

Prisoners to be released and transferred must first be examined by the camp doctor.

aerial photography

In 1979, the CIA released detailed photographs of Auschwitz-Birkenau taken over several days during aerial reconnaissance in 1944 (in the midst of the alleged extermination there). These photographs do not reveal any traces of either mountains of corpses, or smoking chimneys of crematoria, or crowds of Jews awaiting death - all that supposedly happened there. If Auschwitz were the extermination center, as claimed, then all these signs of extermination would be clearly visible in the photographs. /eighteen/

Absurd allegations related to cremation

Cremation experts have confirmed that thousands of corpses could not have been cremated daily at Auschwitz during the spring and summer of 1944, as is commonly claimed.

For example, Ivan Lagas, director of a large crematorium in Calgary, Canada, testified in court in April 1988 that the Auschwitz cremation stories were technically impossible. The claim that 10,000 or even 20,000 corpses were burned daily at Auschwitz in crematoria and open-cast mines in the summer of 1944 is simply "absurd" and "completely unrealistic," he declared under oath. /19/

Gas chamber specialist refutes extermination story

Leading American expert on the gas chambers, Boston engineer Fred Leuchter, carefully examined the alleged "gas chambers" in Poland and concluded that the Auschwitz gassing story was absurd and technically impossible.

Lochter is one of the leading experts in the design and installation of gas chambers used in the United States to execute convicted criminals. For example, he designed the gas chambers for the Missouri penitentiaries.

In February 1988, he carried out a detailed on-site survey in Poland of the "gas chambers" at Auschwitz, Birkenau and Majdanek, still standing or only partly destroyed. In an affidavit in a Toronto court and in his technical report, Lochter detailed every aspect of his research.

He stated that they had come to the firm conclusion that the alleged gas installations could not have been used to kill people. Among other things, he pointed out that the so-called "gas chambers" were not tightly closed and ventilated and would inevitably poison the German camp personnel if these "gas chambers" were used to kill people. /twenty/

Dr. William B. Lindsay, a 33-year research chemist at the DuPont Corporation, also testified in court in 1985 that the Auschwitz gassing stories were technically impossible. On the basis of a thorough survey at the site of the "gas chambers" at Auschwitz, Birkenau and Majdanek, and on the basis of his professional experience and knowledge, he stated: "I have come to the conclusion that no one was killed in this way with Zyklon B (hydrocyanide gas) deliberately or intentionally. I find it absolutely impossible." /21/

Conclusion

The story of the extermination of people in Auschwitz was a product of military propaganda. More than 40 years after the end of the 2nd World War, it is necessary to take a more objective look at this chapter of history that causes such conflicting opinions. The Auschwitz legend is at the heart of the Holocaust story. If no one systematically killed hundreds of thousands of Jews there, as is claimed, then this means that one of the biggest myths of our time has collapsed.

The artificial maintenance of the hatred and emotions of the past prevents genuine reconciliation and lasting peace from being achieved. Revisionism promotes the development of historical consciousness and international understanding. That is why the work of the History Revision Institute is so important and deserves your support.

Books on the scientific debunking of the Holocaust scam

Count Jürgen "The Myth of the Holocaust"

Count Jurgen "The Collapse of the World Order"

Richard Harwood "Six Million - Lost and Found"

Notes

1. Nuremberg document 008-USSR. IMT blue series, Vol. 39, pp. 241, 261.; NC and A red series, vol. 1, p. 35.; C.L. Sulzberger, "Oswiecim Killings Placed at 4,000,000," New York Times, May 8, 1945, and, New York Times, Jan. 31, 1986, p. A4.
2. Y. Bauer, "Fighting the Distortions," Jerusalem Post (Israel), Sept. 22, 1989; "Auschwitz Deaths Reduced to a Million," Daily Telegraph (London), July 17, 1990; "Poland Reduces Auschwitz Death Toll Estimate to 1 Million," The Washington Times, July 17, 1990.
3. G. Reitlinger, The Final Solution (1971); J.-C. Pressac, Le Cr¦matoires d "Auschwitz: La Machinerie du meurtre de mass (Paris: CNRS, 1993). On Pressac" s estimates, see: L "Express (France), Sept. 30, 1993, p. 33.
4. Washington (DC) Daily News, Feb. 2, 1945, pp. 2, 35. (United Press dispatch from Moscow).
5. IMT blue series, Vol. 16, p. 529-530. (June 21, 1946).
6. Nuremberg document 3868-PS (USA-819). IMT blue series, Vol. 33, pp. 275-279.
7. Rupert Butler, Legions of Death (England: 1983), pp. 235; R. Faurisson, The Journal of Historical Review, Winter 1986-87, pp. 389-403.
8. Archives of the Jewish Historical Institute of Warsaw, German document No. 128, in: H. Eschwege, ed., Kennzeichen J (East Berlin: 1966), p. 264.
9. Nuremberg document NO-021. NMT green series, Vol. 5.pp. 384-385.
10. Arthur Butz, The Hoax of the Twentieth Century (Costa Mesa, Calif.), p. 124.
11. Arno Mayer, Why Did the Heavens Not Darken?: The "Final Solution" in History (Pantheon, 1989), p. 365.
12. Nuremberg document NI-11696. NMT green series, Vol. 8, p. 606.
13. Testimony in Toronto District Court, March 28, 1988. Toronto Star, March 29, 1988, p. A2.
14. Sylvia Rothchild, ed., Voices from the Holocaust (New York: 1981), pp. 188-191.
15. Walter Laqueur, The Terrible Secret (Boston: 1981), p. 169.
16. Nuremberg document PS-2171, Annex 2. NC&A red series, Vol. 4, pp. 833-834.
17. "Rules and Regulations for the Concentration Camps." Anthology, Inhuman Medicine, Vol. 1, Part 1 (Warsaw: International Auschwitz Committee, 1970), pp. 149-151.; S. Paskuly, ed., Death Dealer: the Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz (Buffalo: 1992), pp. 216-217.
18. Dino A. Brugioni and Robert C. Poirier, The Holocaust Revisited (Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 1979).
19. Canadian Jewish News (Toronto), April 14, 1988, p. 6.
20. The Leuchter Report: An Engineering Report on the Alleged Execution Gas Chambers at Auschwitz, Birkenau and Majdanek (Toronto: 1988). Available for $17.00, postpaid, from the IHR.
21. The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Feb. 12, 1985, p. M3

It is celebrated annually (International Holocaust Remembrance Day), which is the first world day of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. The day was approved by the UN General Assembly in 2005 in resolution 60/7.

The UN General Assembly began a special meeting timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945, with a moment of silence. During the existence of Auschwitz, according to some estimates, from 1.5 to 2.2 million people died in it.

The meeting was opened by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who called on "present and future generations" to prevent the horrors of fascism from repeating themselves.

"Today is the day we honor the victims of the Holocaust, the allied powers whose troops defeated Nazism, and those brave souls who risked and sometimes sacrificed their lives to save other people" Annan said. He also stressed that “We must not ignore the resurgence of anti-Semitism and must be ready to act against its new forms. This obligation we bear not only to the Jewish people, but also to all others who are threatened or may be threatened by the same fate. We must not turn a blind eye to ideologies of hatred and discrimination wherever they appear.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel Silvan Shalom responded to Kofi Annan's wishes. With words of gratitude, he addressed the allied forces from the rostrum, who liberated the captives from the death camps 60 years ago.

“The soldiers-liberators from the states of the anti-Hitler coalition showed that humanity is capable of doing good. In the face of indifference to the suffering of others, they showed compassion. In the face of deceit, they showed courage and determination,” Shalom said.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who was also present at the session, said that democratic Germany had learned lessons from the irreparable mistakes of previous generations of Germans, which led to the heinous crimes of the Nazi regime.

“Our past requires us to fight uncompromisingly against anti-Semitism, xenophobia and intolerance” Fischer said.

Not only politicians came to the session, there were also people who had directly experienced Nazi torture among those invited. Therefore, the event became truly historic. As reported, holding such a meeting became possible after a long diplomatic effort by Israel, the United States, Russia, the European Union and other countries, as a result of which 156 countries supported the holding of such an event.

The UN General Assembly called on Member States to develop and implement educational programs so that the lessons of the Holocaust are forever remembered by future generations and contribute to the prevention of future acts of genocide. In many countries of the world there are memorials and museums dedicated to the memory of the victims of the genocide, and today on this day mourning ceremonies and various commemorative events and actions are held here.

Commemorative events are also held in Auschwitz on this day. It is currently open to everyone. You can visit it and see everything with your own eyes, or go through the museum with a virtual tour.

The Holocaust is our problem
Not only Jews, but all people,
We remember those who died then,
In the years of terrible days.
Today there is pain in my heart again
And it's not easy to calm her down
When memories come to life again,
Years of the brutal holocaust.
On this day, the planet mourns
This day is a bridge in our memory,
So that we do not forget the consequences of geto,
And the victims who are responsible for the Holocaust.

The entire civilized world is celebrating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is difficult to call this day a holiday. This is a memorable date that calls on all future generations to remember those who laid down their lives on the altar of fascism.

"Holocaust" - translated from ancient Greek means "sacrifice", "burnt offering". Today, this term is associated with the destruction of the Jewish nation by the brutal policies of the Third Reich. It is not known for certain where Hitler and his followers came from the idea of ​​"cleansing the world of Jews", opinions about this still differ.

On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the prisoners of the largest Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, located in Poland near the city of Oswiecim. Historically, it has been established that during the reign of the fascist invaders, such camps, created for the mass extermination of people, were founded by several tens of thousands. They were very small, others, like Auschwitz, where about 16,000 prisoners died every day.

The exact number of deaths in the brutal dungeons of Auschwitz has not been established, since the German fascists and their supporters did not keep accurate counts of arrivals. And later, covering the traces of their crimes, they completely tried to destroy and burn the remains of their camps. At the Nuremberg trials, the figure of the victims of Auschwitz identified by that time was announced - 2.8 million people, 90% of whom were Jews.

Auschwitz was conceived by the German authorities as a camp for political prisoners of the Poles, but after a meeting in 1942 in Berlin, it was decided to almost completely retrain the camp for a final decision on the issue of the Jewish nation.

In addition to Jews, gypsies, mentally ill people, people with incurable diseases, homosexuals, all those from whom it was necessary to cleanse the world were brought here. Outside the gates of the camp, the prisoners were also selected from the so-called doctors, like Clauberg and Mengele. Getting into experiments with sadistic doctors was much worse than getting into a gas chamber and a crematorium.

The term "Holocaust" today includes all the victims of the brutal politics and ideology of fascism. All those who died in the occupied camps from exhausting work, beatings and epidemics, who were shot while trying to escape, who were tortured in sadistic medical laboratories. This is a day of remembrance for those who went through savage camps and survived, and for those who will never go beyond the thorn of fascist captivity.

This date has been officially celebrated since 2006, however, since 1945, no one has ever forgotten how on January 27, Soviet troops released 7,500 prisoners who survived ... out of 6 million.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is celebrated annually on January 27th.

A resolution to this effect was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 1, 2005. The adoption of the document was initiated by Israel, Canada, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and more than 90 states were their co-authors.

Holocaust - from the ancient Greek holocaustosis, meaning "burnt offering", "destruction by fire", "sacrifice". In modern scientific literature and journalism, it refers to the policy of Nazi Germany, its allies and accomplices in the persecution and extermination of six million Jews in 1933-1945.

The term was first used by the future Nobel Peace Prize winner writer Elie Wiesel as a symbol of the gas chambers and crematoria of the extermination camps. After the world premiere in 1978 of the American serial television film of the same name, the term "Holocaust" is actively used to name museums, memorials and educational centers. In Israel and some other countries, the term Shoa (Shoax) is also used, denoting the "Catastrophe of European Jewry."

The date of the memorable day was not chosen by chance. On January 27, 1945, the Soviet army liberated the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz, in which, according to various estimates, from 1.5 to 4 million people died. The exact number of deaths in Auschwitz could not be established, since many documents were destroyed, and the Germans themselves did not keep records of the victims sent to the gas chambers immediately upon arrival. According to the documents of the Nuremberg Tribunal, 2.8 million people died, 90% of whom were Jews. According to the latest estimates of historians of the disaster, the total number of deaths in Auschwitz was about 1.5 million people, of which 85% were Jews (1.275 million).

Auschwitz is a small city in southern Poland with about 50,000 inhabitants. In 1940-1945, a complex of German concentration camps Auschwitz Birkenau was located on the outskirts of Auschwitz. Above the entrance to the concentration camp hung the slogan: Arbeit macht frei ("Work sets you free").

Auschwitz, also known by the German name Auschwitz, was conceived as a camp for Polish political prisoners. Historians call the first period of functioning (until mid-1942) "Polish", since at that moment most of the prisoners were residents of Poland. The second stage in the history of the camp is called "Jewish". The role of Auschwitz as a center for the extermination of Jews increased immeasurably after the meeting held on January 20, 1942 in the suburbs of Berlin on Lake Wannsee. It was dedicated to the destruction of an entire nation - "the final solution of the Jewish question." Subsequently, it will be called the Wannsee Conference. Her protocol appeared at the Nuremberg trials as one of the most important pieces of evidence in the "Persecution of the Jews" section.

In a resolution dated November 1, 2005, the UN General Assembly called on Member States to develop educational programs so that the lessons of the Holocaust will be forever remembered by future generations and contribute to the prevention of future acts of genocide.

“The Holocaust, which led to the extermination of one-third of the Jewish people and countless members of other minorities, will always serve as a warning to all people about the dangers that are fraught with hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice,” the UNGA resolution says.

In memory of the six million Jewish victims of Nazism, memorials and museums have been erected in many countries of the world. Among them are the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem, the Documentation Center and Memorial in Paris (France), the Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam (Netherlands), the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington (USA), the Museum of Memory of 1.5 Million Jewish Children in Hiroshima (Japan). ), Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Holocaust in Moscow.

To ensure the historical truth about the events of World War II, the decisive role of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in the victory over fascism, and to preserve the memory of the horrors of the Holocaust, since 2005 a series of high-level events has been held under the name of the World Holocaust Forum (International Forum “Life to my people! ").

The first World Holocaust Forum was held on January 27, 2005 in Krakow (Poland) and was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. It was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, US Vice President Richard Cheney, Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski and many others, more than 30 official delegations and heads of state.

The Second World Forum was held on September 27, 2006 in Kyiv in memory of the 65th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy. More than 40 official delegations took part in this forum.

The third international forum "Life to my people!", timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp by Soviet troops, was held in Krakow on January 27, 2010.

The fourth international forum "Life to my people!" was held on January 26-27, 2015 in Prague and Terezin (Czech Republic) to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps.

The Forum was attended by over 900 guests, including 30 official delegations and representatives of parliaments, heads of European states, as well as world celebrities, experts and scientists. Russia was represented by Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Ilyas Umakhanov and President of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" Vladimir Yakunin.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is not only a testament to respect for those who survived and a tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, it contains a call to action. It gives Member States the opportunity to participate in the further fight against anti-Semitism and racism and to develop educational programs that will prevent the recurrence of such atrocities in the future. Education plays a vital role in building the capacity to deal with such crimes. In particular, it helps to create a "culture of prevention", break down prejudice, promote peaceful coexistence and human rights, and promote respect for all peoples.

The theme for International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2018 is Holocaust Remembrance and Education: Our Shared Responsibility.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The history of mankind, perhaps, does not remember a more cruel crime than the Holocaust. From the Greek language, this term is translated as "burnt offering", it became widespread only after the 1950s. The story of the victims of the Holocaust is the terrible catastrophe of European Jewry, which began in 1933, when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany and established the absolute dictatorship of the National Socialists. Pseudo-scientific racial theories and the desire to purify the German nation from those who were considered objectionable served as a guide for the new government. The most devastating blow then had to be experienced by the Jews, and even children became victims of the Holocaust.

• Why were Jews the victims of the Holocaust?
  • History of hatred for Jews
  • What do the experts say?
• Number of victims of the Holocaust
• International Holocaust Remembrance Day
• Museums of Holocaust victims

Why were Jews the victims of the Holocaust?

History of hatred for Jews

To the question of why it was the Jews who became victims of the Holocaust, scientists and historians have several reasonable answers, and all of them originate in the mists of time.

Historically, Jews lived outside their homeland for many centuries. Living on the territory of other peoples, they retained their language and religion. In appearance, clothing and traditions, they differed from Europeans. When Christianity arose, Judeophobic ideas about Jews began to form. The Catholic Church accused them of killing Jesus Christ.

In the 5th century, Augustine the Blessed formulated the “correct” Christian attitude towards people of Jewish origin: Jews cannot be killed, but they can and should be humiliated. Thus, the religious consciousness perceived the image of the Jew as something negative, impure. As a result, the Jews had to live in separate quarters, the authorities limited their birth rate and freedom of movement. They were expelled from different states, including Russia. The connection between religious Judeophobia and the state was very close.

Video about the history of Holocaust victims:

The concept of "anti-Semitism" first appeared in the 19th century. Anti-Semitic sentiments were especially popular in Germany. Hitler, who came to power, unified them in the Nazi ideology and sentenced the Jews to complete annihilation. Nazi ideology assumed that the fault of the Jews lay in the very fact of their birth.

In addition, the list of victims of the Holocaust included all the "subhuman" and "inferior", which were considered all Slavic peoples, homosexuals, gypsies, mentally ill.

The Nazis set themselves the goal of wiping out the Jews as a biological species, making the Holocaust their official policy.

What do the experts say?

Experts express different opinions about the reasons for such a large-scale and unprecedented destruction of people. It is especially unclear why millions of ordinary German citizens participated in this process.

• Daniel Goldhagen considers the main cause of the Holocaust to be anti-Semitism (national intolerance), which at that time massively took over the German consciousness.
• Yehuda Bauer, a leading specialist on the Holocaust, has a similar opinion on this matter.
• The German historian and journalist Goetz Ali has expressed the view that the Nazis supported the policy of genocide because of the property taken from the victims and appropriated by ordinary Germans.
• According to the German psychologist Erich Fromm, the cause of the Holocaust lies in the malignant destructiveness that is inherent in the entire biological human race.

Number of victims of the Holocaust

The number of victims of the Holocaust is horrifying: during World War II, the Nazis destroyed 6 million Jews. However, at present, many researchers argue that in fact there were much more Nazi camps than was commonly believed a few years ago. Accordingly, the number of victims also increases.

Historians have discovered about 42 thousand institutions in which the Nazis isolated, punished and destroyed both Jewish and other groups of the population considered inferior. They carried out this policy in vast territories - from France to the USSR. But the largest number of repressive institutions were in Poland and Germany.

So, in 2000, a project was launched, the purpose of which was to search for death camps, forced labor camps, medical centers in which pregnant women had abortions, prisoner of war camps and brothels, whose kept women were forced to serve the German military. In total, more than 400 scientists took part in the project, taking into account the real facts and memories of the victims of the Holocaust.

After the work done, American researchers released new figures showing how many victims of the Holocaust were actually: about 20 million people.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is celebrated on January 27th. This day was approved by the UN General Assembly in 2005, calling on all member countries to develop and educate programs aimed at ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust are preserved in the memory of all subsequent generations. The people of the world must remember these terrible events in order to be able to prevent future acts of genocide. Many countries around the world have created memorials and museums that are dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Every year on January 27, mourning ceremonies, commemorative events and actions are held there.

Such events are also held on this day in the Auschwitz memorial camp - a complex of Nazi concentration camps and death camps, where Slavs and Jews - victims of the Holocaust - died en masse in 1940-1945.

According to many scientists, it is very difficult for the human mind to fully comprehend the genocide that originated in a state rich in spiritual traditions and developed culture. These monstrous events took place in civilized Europe practically before the eyes of the whole world. To ensure that such a Holocaust will never happen again, people must strive to understand its origins and consequences.