International Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, marking the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
As victims were commemorated worldwide, a ceremony was held in Luxembourg City at the Kaddish Monument, dedicated to the victims of the Shoah. Attendees included Prime Minister Luc Frieden.
In his address, Albert Aflalo, President of the Consistoire Israélite du Luxembourg, stressed that remembrance must be paired with vigilance. “Unfortunately, antisemitism has not yet disappeared,” he stated, “To stand before this monument is to affirm that the victims have not been silenced, that their names, their faces, and their stories continue to speak to us.”
More than 1,200 Jewish citizens of Luxembourg perished in the Shoah. Their names are now inscribed on the “Wall of Names,” which was inaugurated last September.
“Behind each name, there is a life, a neighbour, a classmate, a shopkeeper, a doctor, a child who played in the streets of this country,” Aflalo said.
Prime Minister Luc Frieden emphasised a continued duty to action. “To uphold our democratic principles,” he said, “for respect for one another, for human rights, for the fight against antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, for the protection of minorities.”
Council of State President Marc Thewes underscored that remembrance requires an understanding that the Shoah did not occur spontaneously, while also linking it to contemporary civic values.
“The rule of law thrives on human dignity, the independence of institutions, and equality before the law,” Thewes stated. “When these principles are relativised and hatred is normalised, the law itself is weakened,” he cautioned.
Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies, added that such remembrance is crucial for revealing the full scope of human potential, both for atrocity and for resilience. Following the speeches, attendees participated in a ceremonial laying of a stone before the monument.
A separate commemoration is scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday evening in Esch-sur-Alzette at the site of the former synagogue, which was destroyed during the Nazi occupation.
