"On this Day of Remembrance, we remember the millions of victims of the Holocaust", the sacrifice "of six million Jews, as well as Romanies, Poles, Russians and people from other countries", killed in the concentration camps or in the death camps in Nazi Germany". Hans-Gert Poettering, German, President of the EU Parliament, remembers the Shoah in the run-up of the Day of 27 January. "These shameful, painful pages of the history of our continent must never be forgotten. The crimes committed by the Nazis goes on Poettering must always remain in the memory of the young generations as a warning against genocide, that it may never happen again". This is also a sign to "be wary and fight any form of intolerance towards different cultures and religions, especially any form of anti-Semitism or xenophobia". The president of the Assembly adds: "The EU is a community of values. We have reasserted our common principles by signing the Charter of Fundamental Rights". Our history teaches us "that the dignity and the right of every human being" are the highest values to be protected and defended". This must be, according to Poettering, "the basis of our political action in Europe and everywhere across the world".
