As part of a series of commitments on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January, the European Commission will host the international conference “Remembering the past. Shaping the future” in Brussels tomorrow, 23 January. The conference will be opened by Vice-President Margaritis Schinas. It is organized by the Commission in partnership with the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Croatian Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and the main civil society organizations working to promote Jewish life. During the conference, Vice-President Schinas will announce the creation of the “Network of places where the Holocaust happened”, a flagship initiative of the 2021 EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.
Vice-President Schinas said: “As fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors remain among us to share first-hand accounts, sites and places where the Holocaust happened become ever more important to preserve the memory and the lessons of the Shoah”. The Europe-wide “Network of places where the Holocaust happened” will “increase awareness among local population that the Holocaust did not happen only in concentration camps, but also locally, in towns and cities across Europe”.
Today and tomorrow, the European Commission is also holding the fifth Working Group on the implementation of the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. It brings together EU Member States’ representatives and Jewish communities, and discusses progress made regarding national strategies on combating antisemitism.