Greek political leaders on Tuesday stressed the importance of historical memory as a safeguard against hatred and the repetition of past atrocities, marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“We cannot change the past, but it is in our hands to build a better future,” said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, adding that “Never Again” must become a living commitment rather than a slogan.
“Let us make ‘Never Again’ the motto of this ongoing effort, a timeless and collective call to transform memory into conscious action, and the experiences of yesterday into hopes for tomorrow,” he added.
The prime minister underlined that intolerance, racism and antisemitism have no place in society, warning against the forces of hatred and division that continue to threaten democratic values.
Schools in Greece Remember
Across Greece, primary and secondary schools dedicated two teaching hours to Holocaust education. This year’s theme: “The Holocaust in the Collective Memory of the Greeks” – was explored through discussions, historical film screenings, photography and digital exhibitions, as well as testimonies from Greek Jewish survivors of Auschwitz.
In a social media post marking Greece’s National Day of Commemoration for Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust, Mitsotakis reflected on the eradication of the country’s historic Jewish communities.
“Eighty-one years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz, yet the memory of the six million Jews exterminated in Nazi camps remains alive, along with the thousands of Greeks who perished,” he wrote.
A Wound That Has Yet to Heal
Flowers lies on a snow-covered concrete stele of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in Berlin, Germany, January 27, 2026. Photo: Reuters / Annegret Hilse
He noted that flourishing Jewish communities in Thessaloniki, Athens, Ioannina, Rhodes and other cities were nearly wiped out within months, a loss he described as a wound that has yet to heal.
Mitsotakis warned that the values of humanity, democracy and international law are again being tested globally, calling on citizens to confront the enemies of progress “in whatever guise they appear”.
Opposition leaders echoed the message.
Syriza leader Socrates Famellos said “Never Again” is not merely historical remembrance but a moral and political imperative against war crimes, collective punishment of civilians and the devaluation of human life.
Pasok-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis honored the millions of Holocaust victims, including thousands of Greek Jews, and warned of the resurgence of extremist ideologies and hate speech.
“Memory is the guardian of democracy, human rights and the fight against intolerance, antisemitism and fanaticism,” Androulakis said.
Profound Lessons
Commemoration events were held across the country. Greece’s Jewish population today numbers about 6,000 people, primarily living in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Volos, Ioannina, Corfu, Crete and Rhodes.
Internationally, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on nations to reject hatred and dehumanization, stressing that the Holocaust offers profound lessons for protecting humanity’s future.
“We are equipped with human rights, backed by international law – forged from the ashes of war to protect humanity from repeating its darkest chapters,” Türk said.
He stressed the importance of remembering the lessons of the Holocaust, during which six million Jews were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators.
“The genocide did not begin with concentration camps and gas chambers; it started with apathy and silence in the face of injustice, and with the corrosive dehumanization of the other.”
