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Holocaust / Auschwitz Commemoration

On 1 November 2005, Kofi Annan, the secretary-general of the United Nations at that time, declared the day on which Auschwitz was liberated a day of commemoration: The Holocaust Memorial Day. Victims of the Holocaust and other genocides, such as those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Darfur, are remembered worldwide. Auschwitz has developed into a universal symbol of mass destruction of innocent civilians. Read more about the Holocaust Memorial Day.

On 27 January 2012, it will be 67 years since Auschwitz and Birkenau were liberated on 27 January 1945. Each year this is commemorated on the last Sunday in January in Amsterdam. The Auschwitz Committee organises this ceremony, which takes place at the Mirror Memorial 'Auschwitz Never Again' of Jan Wolkers in the Wertheim Park (the link opens a new window).
In due course, the programme of the memorial will be published in the Auschwitz Bulletin and on this website.

Press Release
Lunch after

1. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration – the silent march. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
2. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration - children from various Amsterdam schools –Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
3. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration – Jacques Grishaver, Chairman of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee, addresses the audience. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
4. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration - Lior Raber, representative of the youth, addresses the audience. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
5. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration - music by Royal Gipsy Orchestra Mirando. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
6. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration - the first wreath laid by Holocaust survivors and members of the Board of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee Annual commemoration. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
7. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration - the first wreath laid by Holocaust survivors and members of the Board of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee Annual commemoration. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
8. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration – Amsterdam Mayor Van der Laan and City Counselor Asscher. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
9. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration – Ambassadors and high representatives of many countries (European and non-European) gathered around the Auschwitz Never Again Monument. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
10. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration – schoolchildren laying their roses next to the wreathes of the ambassadors and high representatives of many countries (European and non-European). Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits
11. Annual Holocaust/Auschwitz commemoration – people leaving the Wertheim Park after the ceremony. Photo: 2012 Dirk Spits