The international Holocaust Remembrance Day is an important day to honour the memory of the six million Jews brutally murdered by the Nazi regime, alongside millions of others, including Roma, ethnic Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, and members of other persecuted groups. FEMYSO honours their memory and recognises the profound pain carried by the survivors and their families to this day.
The Holocaust emerged from a culture of unchecked hatred and dehumanisation, where fascist ideologies were allowed to flourish. The systematic erosion of dignity, the normalisation of hate speech, and the slow acceptance of discrimination created conditions that made genocide possible. Today, we see these patterns in the rise of far-right movements across Europe and beyond.
This day serves as a reminder of the atrocities committed and the importance of standing together against hatred and intolerance in all forms. The failure to combat this hatred and intolerance risks individuals dehumanising others, becoming radicalised and acting on those beliefs.
Antisemitism remains a pervasive issue across Europe today. According to a Fundamental Rights Agency survey published in 2024, 96% of Jewish people in the European Union said they encountered antisemitism daily. These forces not only threaten Jewish communities but also target Muslims, Roma, migrants and other minorities, endangering the lives of racialised groups in Europe.
FEMYSO is committed to standing in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters in the fight against antisemitism. We believe that addressing this form of racism is inseparable from combating Islamophobia, antigypsyism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism and other forms of discrimination.
As we honour the memory of Holocaust victims, we must also strengthen our initiatives to combat the root causes of genocide: dehumanisation, political extremism, and the normalisation of hate. FEMYSO affirms its commitments to work toward a world where the rights of all regardless of background are respected, where diverse communities can thrive together, and where “Never Again” truly means never again.
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Notes:
1. FEMYSO (est. 1996) is a network organisation for 32 Muslim youth and student organisations across 22 European countries, and is the leading voice for European Muslim youth, developing and empowering them, and working to build a more diverse, cohesive and vibrant Europe.
2. For more information or requests please email media@femyso.org
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