International Holocaust Remembrance Day Statement
On Monday, January 27th Jøder for Retfærdig Fred (af 5784) commemorated Auschwitz Day at Den Dybeste Sorgs Plads, an altar dedicated to the victims of the Israeli State’s genocidal aggression in Gaza. Flowers, candles, teddy bears and painted stones sit atop the raised cobblestone monument, a place that holds history in its very stones, a neighborhood filled with life, laughter and struggle.
Before the Holocaust, the Blågårds neighborhood was known as a gathering place for the city’s Jewish residents. Now, it is home to many refugee and immigrant families, as well as their descendants, home to new layers of displacement and survival, to new stories of grief and hope. The monument reminds us that history does not live in textbooks monuments—it lives in us. In the choices we make every day.
In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated the 27th of January as International Holocaust Remembrance Day under Resolution 60/7. The Resolution states that the purpose of the day is to encourage the memory of the Holocaust to be preserved to “prevent future acts of genocide”.
January 27th, 2025 marks 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, where 1.1 million human souls were slain between 1940 and 1945. Unfortunately, the purpose of this day has thus far failed, as we see the genocide continue to unfold across historic Palestine. Jewish voices like ours, who are actively speaking out against the Israeli State’s war crimes have been systematically marginalized across Europe, as European governments and mainstream Jewish organizations have continually chosen to side with the Israeli regime. Here in Copenhagen, the Danish Jewish Museum’s Auschwitz Day went as far as to invite the Israeli ambassador, while in Poland the government decided to protect wanted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, announcing on *date* that they would not arrest him should he enter the country for Auschwitz Day. In response to this, JFRF 5784 protested at the Polish Embassy.
JFRF 5784 also authored an open letter to the Danish Jewish Museum.
At the European level, Jewish groups like ours were excluded from this year's Holocaust Remembrance Conference hosted by the European Commission, which featured exclusively pro-Israel Jewish groups.
This is why we felt it was so important to create our own commemoration event where the realities of our world were not ignored, but incorporated. The memory of the Holocaust should always serve as a reminder to fight against genocide, and never excuse it. We needed a space to grieve in unity and solidarity, and were honoured to have local musicians play classic Palestinian music, to accompany our prepared speeches and prayers. Unfortunately, despite being informed that this was a grieving ceremony and not a protest, the police showed up in large numbers, blocking off the square with two 9-person vehicles, and creating a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere. Nonetheless we managed to hold space to mourn the loss of so many lives. While it is impossible to account for all the loss, we shared 16 names of victims from Auschwitz and from Gaza, mourning all as equals:
Rene Blum
Heba Kamal Saleh Abu Nada
Hana Brady
Karam Abdelnabi
Lina Fondane
Saeed Radwan Saeed Al Taweel
Edith Frank
Hind Rajab
Miroslav Shalom Friedberger
Refaat Alareer
Ala Gertner
Yazan Kafarneh
Roza Robota
Zein Al-Din Suleiman Moin al-Najjar
Rosa Pollack
Lubna Mohamed Fathi al-Shae
Holocaust Remembrance Day at Blågårds Plads
Words of Welcome, International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Dansk:
Mandag den 27. januar markerede Jøder for Retfærdig Fred (af 5784) Auschwitz-dagen på Den Dybeste Sorgs Plads, et alter dedikeret til ofrene for den israelske stats folkemords-lignende angreb på Gaza. Blomster, lys, bamser og malede sten hviler på det hævede brostensmonument, et sted, der bærer historien i sine sten, i et kvarter fyldt med liv, latter og kamp.
Før Holocaust var Blågårds-kvarteret kendt som et samlingssted for byens jødiske indbyggere. Nu er det hjemsted for mange flygtninge- og immigrantfamilier, samt deres efterkommere, hjem for nye lag af tvangsforflyttelse og overlevelse, nye historier om sorg og håb. Monumentet minder os om, at historien ikke lever i lærebøger eller monumenter – den lever i os. I de valg, vi træffer hver dag.
I 2005 besluttede FN’s Generalforsamling at udpege den 27. januar som International Holocaust Remembrance Day under Resolution 60/7. Resolutionsformuleringen fastslår, at formålet med dagen er at opfordre til, at mindet om Holocaust bevares for at "forebygge fremtidige folkemord".
27. januar 2025 markerer 80 år siden befrielsen af Auschwitz, hvor 1,1 million mennesker blev berøvet livet mellem 1940 og 1945. Desværre er denne dags formål indtil videre fejlet, da vi fortsat ser folkemordet udfolde sig i det historiske Palæstina. Jødiske stemmer som vores, der aktivt taler imod den israelske stats krigsforbrydelser, er systematisk marginaliseret i hele Europa, mens europæiske regeringer og mainstream jødiske organisationer konstant har valgt at tage det israelske regimes parti. Her i København gik Det Danske Jødiske Museums Auschwitz-dag så vidt som til at invitere den israelske ambassadør, mens den polske regering besluttede at beskytte den efterlyste krigsforbryder Benjamin Netanyahu, idet de annoncerede den dato??, at de ikke ville arrestere ham, hvis han besøgte landet i forbindelse med Auschwitz-dagen. Som svar på dette protesterede JFRF 5784 ved den polske ambassade.
JFRF 5784 skrev også et åbent brev til Det Danske Jødiske Museum.
På europæisk niveau blev jødiske grupper som vores udelukket fra dette års Holocaust Remembrance Conference, som blev afholdt af Europa-kommissionen, og som udelukkende havde pro-israelske jødiske grupper blandt deltagerne.
Derfor følte vi, at det var vigtigt at skabe vores egen mindehøjtidelighed, hvor verdens realiteter ikke blev ignoreret, men inkorporeret. Mindet om Holocaust bør altid tjene som en påmindelse om at kæmpe imod folkemord – aldrig til at undskylde det. Vi havde behov for et rum, hvor vi kunne sørge i enhed og solidaritet, og vi var beærede over at have lokale musikere, der spillede klassisk palæstinensisk musik for at akkompagnere vores forberedte taler og bønner. På trods af at være informeret om, at dette var en sørgeceremoni og ikke en protest, mødte politiet talrigt op og afspærrede pladsen med to 9-personers køretøjer, hvilket skabte en lidt trykket atmosfære. Ikke desto mindre formåede vi at holde rummet, så vi kunne sørge over tabet af så mange liv. Selvom det er umuligt at italesætte det fulde tab, delte vi 16 navne på ofre, både fra Auschwitz og fra Gaza, og sørgede over dem alle i lige mål:
Rene Blum
Heba Kamal Saleh Abu Nada
Hana Brady
Karam Abdelnabi
Lina Fondane
Saeed Radwan Saeed Al Taweel
Edith Frank
Hind Rajab
Miroslav Shalom Friedberger
Refaat Alareer
Ala Gertner
Yazan Kafarneh
Roza Robota
Zein Al-Din Suleiman Moin al-Najjar
Rosa Pollack
Lubna Mohamed Fathi al-Shae