In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the Holocaust as “one of the darkest stains on humanity,” stressing the duty to confront prejudice and hatred wherever it arises.
On Tuesday 27 January 2026, 95-year-old Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich became the first survivor to address the UK Cabinet at 10 Downing Street, receiving a standing ovation for her five-minute speech.
She urged the Government to tackle rising antisemitism, reflecting on recent terror attacks in Manchester and Sydney, and stressed the urgency as one of the last living eyewitnesses to the Holocaust.
Prime Minister Starmer praised her “powerful words,” while senior ministers were visibly moved, calling for action to preserve the lessons of history.
Tribich’s historic address, alongside messages from European leaders, underscored Holocaust Memorial Day 2026 as a poignant reminder of both the personal testimonies of survivors and the collective responsibility to challenge hatred.
Czech President Petr Pavel warned that the legacy of Holocaust victims now rests with living generations, stressing society’s – and above all individuals’ – responsibility to preserve that memory.
In a post on his X profile on Tuesday, he noted that Holocaust denial and the trivialisation of Nazi ideology still persist, and urged that the names and stories of victims must never be forgotten.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recalled the liberation of Auschwitz 81 years ago as the moment the world first confronted “the largest killing machine in history,” emphasising the systematic murder of millions of Jewish people and the deliberate attempt to erase centuries of Jewish life and culture from Europe.
Via social media on Tuesday, she paid tribute to the Righteous Among the Nations who risked their lives to save others, condemned the complicity of the fascist regime in persecutions and deportations, and warned that antisemitism, though decades later, continues to spread in new and virulent forms.
French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed that France will never yield to Holocaust denial or prejudice, describing remembrance as “the first defence against hatred and distortion.”
“On this International Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust, France remembers. Faced with denial that seeks to erase Auschwitz and the death camps, and antisemitism that spreads hatred of others, France will never compromise,” he wrote.
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Source: IAR/X/@Keir_Starmer/@CommonsSpeaker/@prezidentpavel/@GiorgiaMeloni/@EmmanuelMacron