'Lest We Forget' is the title of a project by German photographer Luigi Toscano. Over several years he has been taking pictures of Holocaust survivors. It's a race against time that has pushed Toscano to his emotional limits over and over.
‘Lest We Forget’: UNESCO opens world’s largest portrait exhibit in honor of Holocaust victims and survivors 27 Jan 2021 share this on
Ahead of the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination and concentration camp, UNESCO, in partnership with the WJC, leaders from across the world, and other institutions, hosted a virtual commemoration event on Monday honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
The ceremony also marked the opening of the “Lest We Forget” photo exhibition, the largest display of portraits documenting the stories of survivors of the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes around the world. The exhibition, located within the UNESCO building in Paris as well as all around the exterior fence, was created by photographer Luigi Toscano, and supported by the Permanent Delegations of Austria, France, Germany, and the European Union to UNESCO, as well as the World Jewish Congress, the Represen
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, UNESCO mobilizes governments and the private sector, including Facebook to fight denial and antisemitism
“Transmitting the history of the Holocaust is key to combatting current denial and conspiracy theories,” said UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay.
On the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, which will be marked this Wednesday, UNESCO will announce a number of initiatives to combat denial and antisemitism, during a high-level ceremony organized with the United Nations, in partnership with the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IRHA).
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will participate.
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Education about Holocaust is key to combating conspiracy theories today
One-third of Europeans have little to no knowledge of the Holocaust. Nearly one-quarter of young people in the United States believe the Holocaust is a myth, and in Canada, 52% of Millennials cannot name even one concentration camp or ghetto, while 22% don’t know, or are unsure if they have heard of the Holocaust. As we mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, unfortunately antisemitism is on the rise, just as we witness a disturbing decline in awareness of the Holocaust.
This is not without consequences. In 2019, violent antisemitic attacks worldwide rose 18 per cent over the previous year, with the highest number of incidents reported in major Western democracies, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
UNESCO, UN and IHRA to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day to counter denial and distortion
Education plays a crucial role in combatting antisemitism and Holocaust denial and distortion: “By transmitting the history of this event, we uphold the principles of justice by refusing the hateful logic of National Socialism, and by challenging those who deny the Holocaust or relativize the crimes committed against Jews and other persecuted groups, because they seek to perpetuate the racism and antisemitism that caused the genocide”, said UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay said.
Antisemitism, including the denial and distortion of the facts of the Holocaust, is rising across the world with devastating consequences for individuals, communities and democracies.