The Holocaust

Leon Saltiel joins Thanos Davelis to break down what the building of Thessaloniki's Holocaust museum means for the Jewish community of the city and of Greece, why it has taken so long, and what role this museum can play in combating worrying trends across Europe of anti-semitism, Holocaust denial, and the rise of the far-right.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has visited the site of Holocaust museum being built in Thessaloniki as he began a three-day state visit.

Steinmeier visited the site near an old railway station in the northern city, from where tens of thousands of Jews were transported to Nazi concentration camps during the World War II German occupation.

JERUSALEM - The pictures are haunting: black-and-white prints of a snow-covered barracks and paintings bordered by wire fences and skeletal trees, grim depictions of a World War II camp in France where Jews were interned before being transported to concentration camps.

A 95-year-old German woman notorious for denying the Holocaust has been sentenced to one year and four months in prison by a court in Hamburg, according to a report by DPA. Ursula Haverbeck was found guilty of incitement stemming from statements she made during the 2015 trial of former Nazi SS member Oskar Gröning, who served at Auschwitz.

The memorial prayer (Askava) and the laying of wreaths at the annual event commemorating the National Day of Remembrance of the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust on January 28 was among the last to be held on the pavement of Nikis Avenue, in central Thessaloniki.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday, describing the extermination of millions of European Jews by the Nazis as "the darkest chapter of modern history."

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Saturday observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day, describing the genocide of European Jews during World War II as "an atrocious crime that has left an indelible mark on world history."

The Greek Foreign Ministry marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday, emphasizing the need to safeguard collective memory as a defense against racism and bigotry.

"We honor the victims of Nazi brutality, including tens of thousands of Greek Jews," the ministry said in a statement.

With the slogan #WeRemember, the facade of the Greek Parliament was lit up on Friday as part of the global events held to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In the leadup to International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) underlined the responsibility to pass on the memory of the Holocaust "so that the darkness of oblivion does not prevail over the light of memory and hope."