On the morning of 27 In January 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps still held some 7,000 prisoners. Over
a million people deported to Auschwitz perished there. It is estimated that six
million Jews were exterminated in the death camps.
The Council of Europe was
the moving spirit behind the introduction of a Day of Holocaust Remembrance and
Prevention of Crimes against Humanity. Education ministers from member states
took the decision in October 2002. While Germany and France have chosen 27
January, the day when Auschwitz was liberated, Holocaust Day varies in other
countries according to the respective historical experience.
The Council of Europe
also helps teachers with their Holocaust Remembrance Day preparations by making
available teaching material for raising pupil awareness of those dark times and
exploring the topics of genocide and crimes against humanity so as to promote
prevention, understanding, tolerance, and friendship between nations, races and
religions.