UN Opens Memorial Session

For the first time in history the Jewish prayer for the dead was heard in the United Nations building at a special session marking the 60th year since Auschwitz's liberation.

Annan payed homage to other groups who had fallen prey to the Nazi regime, such as the gypsies, intellectuals and artisans .

“But the tragedy of the Jewish people was unique," he said. “Two thirds of European Jewry, which had contributed far beyond its numbers to the cultural and intellectual riches of Europe and the world, was destroyed."

Annan quoted Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, saying "Not every victim was a Jew, but every Jew was a victim."

He said the world must be aware of any revival of anti-Semitism and ready to act against new forms of it appearing today.

"Speaking is easy, but doing something about it is much harder," he said. "Since the Holocaust the world has, to its shame, failed more than once to prevent or halt genocide.”

Wiesel spoke next and said the terrible sights exposed to the Jews during the war has haunted them for the past 60 years.

"Death was the norm and living was being lucky," he said.

Wiesel praised the allies for liberating Europe and the concentration camps, but also criticized their behavior, or lack of it, during the war.

"The sad fact is if the allies would have intervened when Hitler conquered Austria and Czechoslovakia, if America would have allowed Jews entrance to the country and if the British mandate would have opened the gates of Israel, this tragedy would have been very different," he said.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom represented Israel at the ceremony,

and Israel's ambassador to the UN said Shalom not only represented the State of Israel and the Jewish nation, he also represented the six million Jews who had died in the Holocaust.

Shalom said remembering the holocaust is especially important today, as anti-Semitism is resurfacing and minority groups are being persecuted due to their ethnic background.

"Who would have thought that 60 years after Auschwitz and Bergen-Belzen, Jews would still be victims of violent acts in the same countries that experienced Nazi occupation?" he said.

Shalom said all types of anti-Semitism must be stopped and human rights must be preserved.

"We are gathered for those who remember, for those who have already forgotten, and for those who never knew," he said. "We must keep in mind that the horror did not begin with tanks, but rather with words and inflammatory rhetoric." 

Shalom said that for the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, the state of Israel was established too late.

"We are here to make sure such a horrific event would never occur again," he said. "In the name of Israel and the Jewish nation, I stand here before you and sware, in the name of all the victims - never again."

This is the first time the UN has marked Auschwitz's liberation by the allies on 27 January 1945. An additional ceremony is scheduled to take place on Thursday at the actual site of the camp, attended by diplomats from more than 40 countries.