Learn from the past, protect the future. Germany strives to live up to this ideal. We do not want to forget what happened. And we will not forget what can happen.

That is why I find it so important, this year as every year, to commemorate the victims of the Shoah with the memorial event organised by the World Jewish Congress and the State Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.

While the pandemic means that we are only able to hold the event online, the act of shared remembrance is no less important to us as a result. We partake in this act to remember the victims, but also for our future, for a shared future. It is a duty, but also a responsibility. One that we inherit from those who lived through the horrors of the Shoah, whose voices are gradually disappearing.

The greatest danger for all of us begins with forgetting. With no longer remembering what we inflict upon one another when we tolerate antisemitism and racism in our midst.

We must remain alert, must identify prejudice and conspiracy theories and combat them with reason, passion and resolve. Each and every one of us must play their part in protecting our Jewish fellow citizens from threats, abuse and violence. Not in the future, but here and now, in the country where we live together.

I want to assure you that we will not waver. We will continue to fight against antisemitism, racism and all other forms of hatred.

Looking to the future, remembering the victims of the Shoah means saying never again. That is the essence of our enduring responsibility.