As Germany commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Holocaust survivors, including Mala Tribich, highlight the urgent need to combat hatred and remember the past. Over 50 former prisoners attended the memorial event alongside officials, underscoring the necessity of vigilance against anti-Semitism and racism. With rising support for the far-right AfD party in Germany, concerns about the future of Holocaust remembrance grow, prompting leaders like Stephan Weil to urge against forgetting historical atrocities and the importance of acknowledging them in modern society.
"My message for the future is that all of us must be alert and active in combating hatred," said Mala Tribich, 94, who was born in Poland and sent to Bergen-Belsen as a child.
"There were many people that looked like skeletons, like zombies shuffling along. Then they would fall and just remain there where they fell with other people falling over them."
Stephan Weil, state premier of Lower Saxony, said Germany "must not forget or repress the darkest chapter in (our) history and the crimes associated with it".
Concerns are growing in Germany about the future of Holocaust remembrance amid a surge in support for the far-right AfD, which emerged as the second-biggest party in an election in February.
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