Accra: Mr Roey Gilad, the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, has emphasized the importance of preserving the memory of the Holocaust as a moral obligation that should be consciously passed on to future generations. He highlighted that this remembrance should be a shared responsibility, especially as the number of Holocaust survivors decreases, noting that technology cannot replace the power of personal testimony and deliberate storytelling.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Gilad made these remarks during a ceremony on Tuesday evening in Accra to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event was held at the Residence of the German Ambassador to Ghana and was themed 'Holocaust remembrance for dignity and human rights.' The ceremony included activities such as the lighting of memorial candles, prayers, poetry recitals, musical performances, and a screening of a short documentary on the Holocaust.
Mr Gilad stressed, "It is a moral obligation that cannot be ignored, nor forgotten. If we will not tell the story to our children, then who will?" He reflected on the challenge of remembrance as survivors pass on, stating that while technology and artificial intelligence offer new possibilities, nothing can replicate the impact of live testimony. Drawing from Jewish tradition, he mentioned the biblical instruction to pass memory from parent to child, underscoring that this principle should guide Holocaust remembrance to ensure its lessons endure.
Mr Frederik Landsh¶ft, the German Ambassador to Ghana, described the Holocaust as a 'civilisational rupture' and a crime against humanity committed by Germans in the name of Germany. He stressed that remembrance carries a permanent responsibility. "As a German, I say this clearly and without qualification: the Holocaust was a crime against humanity," he said, adding that remembrance has no final chapter and must not fade with time. Mr Landsh¶ft also warned that antisemitism remains a current threat, citing rising incidents globally, and stressed the need for vigilance in defending human dignity, the rule of law, and international humanitarian principles.
Mr Zia Choudhury, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, noted that the Holocaust was not inevitable, as its architects acted openly, enabled by hatred, distortion, denial, and indifference. "When we remember these truths, we remember the humanity of each victim," he said, urging a renewed commitment to standing against antisemitism, racism, and all forms of discrimination.
Mr James Gyakye Quayson, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, recounted a recent visit to the Holocaust Museum in Israel as deeply moving, describing the atrocities as reflecting 'the other side of humanity.' He urged societies to learn from history and choose compassion over hatred.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed annually on January 27 to commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by Soviet forces in 1945. The Holocaust refers to the systematic persecution and murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945, during World War II.