27/01/2026 Session
[En cours de traduction]
PACE today remembered the victims of the Holocaust in a moving ceremony during which many speakers reflected on its lessons for today.
Lord Alf Dubs, who in June 1939 at the age of six escaped the Holocaust on a Kindertransport train from occupied Europe, recalled that journey and spoke of the importance of passing on the history of the Holocaust to young people: “We have to make sure that the next generation understand it, because people like me will no longer be around – and it is important that the message goes on being spread to the next generation.”
He paid tribute to British stockbroker Nicholas Winton, who together with others organised the Kindertransport evacuations which saved the lives of 669 mainly Jewish children: “He was a remarkable man. He looked at the situation and said ‘this is a problem’. But then he said, ‘I must do something about it’ – and that’s what made him different. I am very moved to be talking about him because he helped save my life.”
PACE President Petra Bayr said: “We often hear calls to finally close this chapter of history – but history cannot be closed. We carry a shared obligation to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are translated into concrete political action today. Never again is not a symbolic phrase, it is a political commitment – to defend human dignity, to protect minorities, and to resist the erosion of democratic norms, wherever it occurs.”
The President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu said: “Today we must ask ourselves honestly – are we so certain such a tragedy can never happen again? The world is on a slippery slope. […] ‘Never again’ is not a promise that sustains itself. It is a responsibility we must renew, through our institutions, our choices and our courage. Let us have the courage to act before remembrance turns into regret.”
Other participants in the ceremony included Meyer Stambler, Chief Rabbi of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, who addressed the Assembly in a video message from the Jewish Museum of Ukraine in Dnipro; Anina Ciuciu of the Roma and Travellers community; Krystian Kamiński from Poland’s LGBTI community; and French historian Nicolas Laugel.
In a separate part of the ceremony, the Moldovan and PACE Presidents, together with Council of Europe Secretary General, laid wreaths to remember the victims of the Holocaust and held a minute of silence.
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said: “The Council of Europe is less than an hour from the Natzweiler-Struthof camp. Yet it stands for everything the Holocaust sought to destroy. The Council of Europe is a peace project built on a solemn pledge: never again. A peace built on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.”
