Holocaust Memorials Condemn ‘Barbarity’ of Russia’s Invasion and Putin’s False Claim to Anti-Nazi Crusade
Two of the world’s most prominent Holocaust memorial sites condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both for the “megalomania” of Vladimir Putin, and his exploitation of history as a false justification for his military campaign.
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparks an international crisis and fears of war in Europe, the Auschwitz Memorial released a statement saying “this act of barbarity will be judged by history, and its perpetrators, it is to be hoped, also by the International Court of Justice.”
“As we stand at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, it is impossible to remain silent while, once again, innocent people are being killed purely because of insane pseudoimperial megalomania,” the statement continued. “At this moment, the free and democratic world must show if it has learned its lesson from the passivity of the 1930s. Today, it is clear that any symptom of indifference is a sign of complicity.”
The Auschwitz Memorial statement on the situation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/RIXjm4oZas
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) February 24, 2022
When Putin announced the “special military operation” Russian forces would be making into Ukraine, he compared the country to Nazi Germany by claiming the move would facilitate the “demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine.”
There’s no evidence that genocide is being committed in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (who is Jewish) threw Putin’s Nazi label back at him in an online statement.
Russia treacherously attacked our state in the morning, as Nazi Germany did in #2WW years. As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history. 🇷🇺 has embarked on a path of evil, but 🇺🇦 is defending itself & won’t give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2022
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum also released a statement on Thursday denouncing how “in justifying this attack, Vladimir Putin has misrepresented and misappropriated Holocaust history by claiming falsely that democratic Ukraine needs to be ‘denazified.’ Equally groundless and egregious are his claims that Ukrainian authorities are committing “genocide” as a justification for the invasion of Ukraine.”
“We strongly condemn this unprovoked attack and are greatly concerned about the loss of life. The Museum stands with the Ukrainian people, including the thousands of Holocaust survivors still living in the country,” said Museum chairman, Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat. “These survivors are remnants of one of Europe’s largest pre-war Jewish populations that was almost completely decimated by the Germans in World War II. Having suffered terribly as victims of both Nazism and Communism, Ukrainians today are seeking to fulfill their democratic aspirations.”
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