Switzerland pays tribute to victims of Holocaust

As the world marked the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, Swiss president Johann Schneider-Ammann highlighted on Wednesday Switzerland's firm stand against violence and despotism in the world.

"We are gathering today because the systematic killing of millions of innocent people in the middle of Europe ripped a huge gash in the sensitive fabric of the world, and this has not yet healed," the president of the Swiss confederation said in a statement.

The notorious National Socialist Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp was liberated over seventy years ago on Jan. 27, 1945. Liberation meant salvation for the few inmates who were still alive and who had reached the end of their strength.

"This date does not merely mark the event itself, it now symbolises the end of suffering, a difficult new beginning for the survivors and a deeply felt wish for lasting peace. It has come to universally signify the unimaginable suffering that man can do to his fellow man," Schneider-Ammann said.

On a more positive note, the Swiss president mentioned the fruitful integration of some of the survivors who opted to settle in Switzerland once the Second World War had ended.

"We cannot undo what has been done. But we can speak up for a world in which we do not simply pay lip service to human dignity, but make it reality, every day and everywhere," Schneider-Ammann concluded.

Switzerland will chair the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2017. Enditem