Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos made the following statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day:
“Today, 27 January, on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, all humanity honors the memory of the victims of the Holocaust; the millions of Jews who perished at the hands of Hitler’s regime.
Today, on National Remembrance Day of Greek Jewish Heroes and Martyrs of the Holocaust, Greeks honor the memory of, and pay their own tribute to, the thousands of their compatriots, Greek Jews, who fell victim to the Nazi atrocities.
The Greek government looks upon Holocaust denial with vehement repugnance, attaching the highest importance to unswerving implementation of the existing anti-racist legislation and to categorical condemnation of anti-Semitism. It expresses its certainty that the neo-Nazi elements assailing Democracy and the rule of law will be marginalized by Greek society, which abhors intolerance.
The Greek state, through systematic actions, is contributing unceasingly to the international efforts toward respect for Holocaust remembrance and the combatting of anti-Semitism.
Today, Greece joins voices with the conscience of humanity, sustaining the memory of and honoring the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.”
January 27, 2014