French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Thursday, January 27, that France would “make no compromise in the fight against anti-Semitism in any form” during the 80th anniversary commemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. “France’s universalism is nourished by these struggles and remains connected to them, and this will never end,” Macron stated. The president signed the Golden Book at the Memorial of the Holocaust earlier in the day, with a presidential spokesperson emphasizing that these commemorations represent “one of the last moments when we can benefit from the presence and testimonies of Holocaust survivors.”
President Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, attended an international ceremony in Poland at the Auschwitz-Birkenau site, joining other world leaders to mark the anniversary. Following the event, the couple visited the French Pavilion at Auschwitz, which has hosted a permanent exhibition since 1979 dedicated to the memory of French victims of the camp.
**”We Must Not Forget,” Urges Ukrainian President Zelensky**
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the world to “prevent evil from prevailing.” Speaking at Babyn Yar, a site in Kyiv where over 33,000 Jews were massacred during World War II, Zelensky warned that “the memory of the Holocaust is slowly fading. We must not forget.” He added, “It is everyone’s duty to make every effort to prevent evil from triumphing.”
Zelensky traveled to Poland to participate in the Auschwitz-Birkenau commemoration and meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. According to a spokesperson from the Ukrainian president’s office, Zelensky also held talks with European Council President Antonio Costa.
**Putin Honors Soviet Soldiers, Absent from Commemoration**
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to the Soviet soldiers who liberated Auschwitz in January 1945, describing their actions as a victory over “terrible and absolute evil.” In a message released by the Kremlin, Putin stated, “We will always remember that it was the Soviet army that crushed this terrible and absolute evil, achieving a victory whose greatness will remain in world history forever.” However, Putin did not attend the commemoration in Poland, where dozens of world leaders gathered. His absence comes amid Russia’s increasing international isolation following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
**Italian PM Meloni Condemns Fascist Complicity in Holocaust**
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, condemned the “complicity of the fascist regime” in the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. In a statement marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Meloni reflected on the atrocities faced by Jews, who were “torn from their homes, forced to leave everything behind… simply because they were Jewish.” She described the Holocaust as “a plan of horror, deliberately carried out, that made it an unprecedented tragedy in history.”
Meloni, whose party has historical ties to Italy’s fascist past, also denounced the “Nazi-fascist fury” during the 79th anniversary of the raid on Rome’s Jewish ghetto in October 2022. The 1943 raid resulted in the deportation of over 1,000 Jews to concentration camps, with only 16 survivors returning. In total, nearly 8,000 Italian Jews perished in the camps.
**A Call to Remember and Resist**
As the world marked the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation, leaders emphasized the enduring importance of remembering the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism in all its forms. The commemorations served as a stark reminder of the horrors of the past and the collective responsibility to ensure such atrocities are never repeated.
