Ceremony held to commemorate Holocaust victims hinh anh 1Students of Hanoi Experimental High School perform a candle-lighting ceremony to commemorate the Holocaust victims, a Jewish tradition preserved around the world. (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Peace Committee, the United Nations, the Embassy of Israel, and the German Embassy in Vietnam jointly held a ceremony in Hanoi on March 29 to commemorate Holocaust victims with the message “Never forget and learn the lesson of peace.”

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Peace Committee Tran Dac Loi said that human history went through very dark pages with terrible disasters caused by human-being. One of those dark pages was the genocide of European Jews committed by Nazi Germany which resulted in the murder of more than 6 million Jews in the world.

The United Nations designated January 27 as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day because on January 27, 1945, Nazi’s Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army, he said.

By remembering horrifying memories of the past, people are more and more aware of the importance of peaceful coexistence among peoples, and of the need to prevent a recurrence of such disasters, Loi stressed.

“The Vietnamese people understand and sympathise with the sufferings of the Jewish victims, and at the same time deeply appreciate the value of peace and friendly relations with the peoples around the world,” he said, adding that Vietnam joins hands in building a peaceful world, a humane and civilised society in which all people, all ethnicities, religions, and countries are equal, respect each other, all disputes and conflicts are settled based on peace.

Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam Yaron Mayer called on everyone to show a high sense of responsibility to ensure that a similar disaster will never happen again.

Ceremony held to commemorate Holocaust victims hinh anh 2Betty Eppel (left), a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust disaster, tells her story. (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

At the ceremony, six students of Hanoi Experimental High School performed a candle-lighting ceremony to commemorate the Holocaust victims, a Jewish tradition preserved around the world.

Participants in the ceremony had an opportunity to listen to a story of 88-year-old Betty Eppel, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust disaster./.

VNA