Holocaust survivor Sara Weinstein addresses UN on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Sara Weinstein surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider

By Sara Weinstein

“I have seen what happens when a person forgets what it means to be human.

When hatred becomes a language, and when people close their eyes.

I survived — but my parents, my entire family, and six million others did not.

Six million silenced voices ask one thing of us:

Do not forget. Not for us, but for you.

Because the Holocaust did not begin with gas chambers — it began with words: with incitement, propaganda, jokes, accusations, and indifference.

And today, I see the seeds of that same hatred once again.

Antisemitism is raising its head, Jews are being attacked, and the world remains silent.

We must not accept a reality in which a Jew is forced to hide their identity, in which synagogues are burned, and in which words of hate turn into acts of violence.

Those who believe that hatred of Jews stops with Jews are mistaken.

Hatred knows no boundaries.

Today it is antisemitism — tomorrow it will be another people, another religion, another race.

Hatred and incitement spread like fire, burning everything, we hold dear: Compassion, justice, trust, and peace.

From here, I call on every person, everywhere: Stand up to hatred. Do not remain silent.”

SHolocaust survivor Halyna Tomenko on screen.
Photos courtesy of UN.