Victims of Nazi atrocities will be remembered at ceremonies next week marking the end of the second world war in Europe. Survivors and relatives gathered at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp near Hanover last Sunday to commemorate the estimated 72,000 people who were murdered there. Among those killed was a young German-born Jewish girl, Anne Frank, whose celebrated diary recalls those terrible times.
The dead of 1939-45 should never be forgotten. But we should also be mindful to count the dead of 2025. To know that in years to come, we will remember, record and honour victims of today’s recurring atrocities. Each day brings news of more appalling acts by governments and armed groups in wars and conflict zones around the world. One difference now is, unlike the Nazi atrocities, many of these crimes are very public knowledge even as they occur.
