The European Jewish Congress (EJC) partnered with the European Commission and the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU in organising the Holocaust Remembrance Conference, “Remembering the Past, Shaping the Future,” which took place in Brussels on 14 January 2026 on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Among the speakers were European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life Katharina von Schnurbein, Director of Multilateral Relations, Security and Global Agenda Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus Antonios Theocharous, Vice-President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno, and EUJS President Hanna Veiler.
Participants had the opportunity to hear Holocaust survivor Alfred Garwood share his deeply personal and moving story. Born in the Przemyśl Ghetto, he was later imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp and placed on a train destined for Terezin Concentration Camp, from which he and his family were ultimately liberated.
The programme also featured musical interludes performed by Ensemble Balagole, presenting emotional Jewish pieces, and a theatrical performance of an excerpt from the play “Like Underwater,” which reflected on memory and remembrance.
The event concluded with a commemoration ceremony led by Rabbi Olivier Kaufman, followed by the lighting of candles in memory of the victims of the Shoah.
