Statement by Martin SCHULZ, EP President, during the plenary session of January in Strasbourg to commemorate the&nbsp;70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

statement

Strasbourg

plenary session

SCHULZ, Martin (S&D, DE)

fight against antisemitism (T)

70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz (T)

70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz: extracts from the statement by Martin SCHULZ, EP President

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHULZ, EP President, "70 years ago on the 27 of January 1945 Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Soviet troops. What the liberators saw shocked the world as a whole and continues to do so to this day. The mountains of corpses, the crematorium, the piles of shoes, glasses, and human hair... the evidences of stolen lives, the thin and hungry survivors, and the proximity of death have been stamped in the collective memory of human kind".

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHULZ, EP President, "The responsibility carried by individuals has been taken with them to their graves; however we all share a collective responsibility to ensure that this never happens again. All of us who belong to subsequent generations will carry this responsibility forever".

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHULZ, EP President, "70 years on from the liberation of Auschwitz Jews in Europe still fear for their safety. That is something that must frighten us and we need to resist that fear, we need to ensure that this hatred does not become contagious. I consider the recent events in Paris as an example".

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHULZ, EP President, "We have to resist the growing levels of mistrusts; we must fight for the rights of each and every human being. That is the task that we should consider our own 70 years from the liberation of Auschwitz. In this Parliament of many nations that is our duty, that is a very special duty that we have to fulfil. Thank you" Applause