Hitler "did not win" - MEPs are told

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has paid a moving tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.

The Parliament’s head also reaffirmed what she called its “unwavering commitment against antisemitism, racism and other forms of hate. Europe remembers.”

The MEP was speaking on 25 January in Brussels to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Warning that the complicit silence of many made the Nazi horrors possible, the president of the assembly underlined that “the European Parliament is not a place of indifference - we speak against Holocaust deniers, against disinformation and against violence”.

“We will listen to your story. We will take your lessons with us. We will remember”, she said.

The debate was also attended by Irene Shashar, who travelled from her home in Israel to speak to MEPs.

Born on 12 December 1937 as Ruth Lewkowicz, Shashar survived the Warsaw ghetto.

After her father was killed by the Nazis she escaped the ghetto with her mother through the sewers to another part of Warsaw where she was a “hidden child” for the rest of war. She and her mother then moved to Paris.

After her mother’s death, she moved to Peru where she was adopted by relatives.

 After studying in the US, she moved to Israel at the age 25 and became the youngest faculty member to hold a post at the Hebrew University. Today she lives in Modiin, Israel. In 2023 she published her biography “I won against Hitler”.

Speaking about the ongoing war and the terrorist attacks of 7 October, she said that she left her country “in the wake of violence, murder, rape, and terror” and asked MEPs for their solidarity and support to see the hostages be reunited with their families.

After 7 October “the resurgence of antisemitism means that the hate of the past is still with us”, Shashar warned. “Jews are again not feeling safe living in Europe. After the Holocaust, this should be unacceptable. “Never Again” should truly mean never again.”

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