Rwandans, diplomats and Israel residents from around the region yesterday gathered at Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Gisozi to commemorate the Holocaust that affected people of Jewish origin during the World War II.

Under this year’s theme, "Journeys through the Holocaust,” the event brought together government officials, scholars and Israeli citizens a day before the official commemoration day.

The annual commemoration marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet troops in 1945.

The Nazi (German extremists) regime and its collaborators murdered about six million Jews during the Second World War, in a systematic attempt to exterminate European Jews.

Events of the day involved a lecture whereby participants were taken through the history of the Holocaust, its effects and lessons to draw from it.

Organised through tripartite efforts by the Israeli embassy, German embassy and the Rwandan government, the event recalls the various journeys taken during the Holocaust period, from deportation to incarceration to freedom, and how the experience transformed the lives of those who endured it.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Israeli Ambassador to Rwanda, Belaynesh Zevadia, who is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said Israel and Rwanda share a lot in history, from the systematic killings to finding possibilities in reconciliation.

She said following the atrocities, Israel and Germany had drawn lessons and forged a relationship where the two countries work in close collaboration in a range of issues, including ensuring that such atrocities never occur again.

The German Ambassador to Rwanda, Peter Fahrenholtz, acknowledged the responsibility of his country in the atrocities, saying it is one of the reasons the European country spearheads efforts to fight Genocide and Holocaust denial.

"The human race should always stop xenophobia and discrimination against the minority everywhere in the world. We must always recognise the dignity of all human beings,” the German envoy said.

Sports and Culture minister Joseph Habineza said, years after the atrocities and restoration of peace, Israel and Rwanda were still combating genocide denial, adding that they would keep sharing lessons in combating the vice.

The United Nations country representative, Lamin Manneh, said lessons to be drawn from Rwanda and Israel were that reconciliation and sustainable development were possible and that combat against xenophobia and discrimination were everyone’s responsibility in prevention of atrocities.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw