That is an important combination
of digits to remember – a UN resolution in 2005 that established January 27 as
the International Holocaust Remembrance Day – the day when the largest of the
Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated.
The Holocaust is and will
remain the most enduring horror unleashed on humanity because, for a common
mind, killing human beings, in the name of ethnic superiority (or prejudice) at
this scale is simply beyond thinking realms.
But then, arrival of a Hitler
is always a real time possibility.
Human death camps are still
alive and kicking in many parts of the world – with the common thread being
persecuting those who raise voice against the ruling regimes – in North Korea –
in restive countries of Africa – in monarchies and authoritarian nations of
Asia and Africa – and elsewhere.
Well, we cannot say with
certainty where they exist – but they do exist.
And a day to pay tribute to
the worst crime against humanity in the known human history is a day to cement
your resolve to be in solidarity with the countless lives that are still
compromised every passing day.
Because the day comes to
remind us the of devil prowling among us – someone who could be in any of us!
Because the days comes to
take us, in this generation who have not seen those images, or from a different
geographic territory, on a revisit to the visuals of the concentration camps
and a visit through the Holocaust literature – a must for every human life!
Hitler and his Nazi Germany
had killed many millions in a span of few years only and Hitler’s success in
unleashing his killing machinery tells how such maniacs manipulate even
democracy in the name of democracy and national pride – because Hitler was the
product of a democratic transition process in Germany. And Germany was in
Europe – the birthplace of democracies.
So, the dangers are very real
– in a world inundated with democracies, autocracies, monarchies and
absurdities – the broken down nations with tribal warlords, civil wars and
terror groups – in a world infested with war theatres in almost every continent.
The Holocaust has been a
regular in human conscience – right from the day the Second World War ended.
But it is imperative for us to be more organized in remembering and revisiting
the darkest chapter in our history – to feel that chill down our spines – to become
numb – if we have to remain alert to dissuade any Hitler to walk again.
And the UN General Assembly
Resolution 60/7 exactly does that – with the Holocaust Remembrance Day – or the
Holocaust Memorial Day.