On this day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the Congress of Bosniaks of North American mourns the Millions of Innocent Souls lost and lives displaced by the murderous Nazi regime.
Seventy-six years later, we strive to remember the incomprehensible and barbaric act of violence directed against a nation of peoples that questioned faith and humanity at its core. Amid the darkness, 27 January 1945 emerged as a day of hope; thousands of Prisoners were liberated from the infamous Nazi extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau. While the liberation was an end to the atrocities at Auschwitz, it marked the start of the Survivors’ battle for justice and accountability. The Holocaust survivors have courageously shared their stories, the real-life nightmares of unimaginable atrocities, and the haunting images forever etched in their memory. The invaluable accounts from survivors are living testaments of human resilience, courage, and dignity.
We are indebted to every Survivor of the Holocaust for their stories; they are the crucial lessons of life that remind us that inaction enables inhumanity to thrive and prevail. If we silence their voices, if we allow ourselves to forget or dare to doubt, we allow evil to extinguish the light of hope, the very foundation of the Good in humanity.
Those courageous enough, who spoke out against the Nazi regime, who without hesitation aided their persecuted neighbors, recognized their choice of Good vs. Evil. We must do the same; we must condemn any attempts to deny the occurrence of the Holocaust. We must never forget the six million Jews and millions of other innocent victims murdered in Nazi death camps. We must remember and mourn those lives cut short, and we must celebrate, listen, and recognize the courageous spirit of those who survived.
On this International Day of Commemoration, in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the Congress of Bosniaks of North America joins the Jewish community as we reaffirm our obligation not just to bear witness but to act against hatred, discrimination, and bigotry wherever it may surface. We ask God to bless the memory of the millions who perished and grant us the strength and courage to make real our solemn vow: Never forget. Never allow evil to prevail again.