A commemoration ceremony in the Mansion House paid tribute to the communities who were persecuted and murdered during the Holocaust. 

Organised by the Holocaust Education Trust Ireland, speakers commemorated victims and survivors of the Holocaust in an online broadcast from the Mansion House. During the event, Ireland’s two remaining survivors Tomi Reichental and Suzi Diamond shared their stories. 

In the lead up to International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust 2021 on Wednesday, January 27, speakers called for renewed education regarding survivors’ experiences.  Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu said, “We recall the suffering inflicted on the Jewish people of Europe and all those of other faiths and ethnicities persecuted during the Holocaust. We will reflect on this and on the suffering of people still being inflicted throughout the world today.”

This evening, we remember all of those who perished in the Holocaust.

Join us (virtually) by registering at the link below:https://t.co/RQuBZvp4ND#HETI #HMD #HolocaustMemorialDay pic.twitter.com/EU0Gz5Gh1h

— Holocaust Education Ireland (@he_ireland) January 24, 2021

Speaking at the commemoration ceremony, Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated, “On this memorial day, we remember the 6 million Jewish people – men, women and children – who were brutally killed by the Nazis. We remember the others who perished at the hands of the Nazis, including members of the Roma community, people with disabilities, gay men and lesbians, other religious minorities, and those who spoke up in defence of minorities.”

Further highlighting the need for remembrance during the commemoration ceremony, Chair of the Holocaust Education Trust Ireland Professor Thomas O’Dowd stated, “With few Holocaust survivors left to carry the burden of memory, the lessons of history grow dangerously dim.”

“It becomes even more important to educate generations now living. Awareness of the Holocaust strengthens our resolve to rebut antisemitism in all its manifestations, and to commit ourselves to challenging every example of intolerance that we witness,” O’Dowd continued. 

The Holocaust Education Trust Ireland has stated that this ceremony has become hugely important due to a “surge” in misinformation, antisemitism, and Holocaust denial and distortion. O’Dowd shared, “The year 2020 brought huge challenges to the international community and has, I hope, brought a greater awareness of how societies change, the fragility of so much we take for granted, and of the dangers of leaving discrimination to go unchecked.”