On the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony 2025
on 28. January 2025 at the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Accra
H.E. Daniel Krull, German Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana
delivered the following speech:

1. Welcome
• Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Ghana, H.E. Charles Abani, many thanks for hosting tonight’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025 ceremony,
• Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Roey Gilad,
• representatives of the Government of Ghana and state institutions here present,
• religious leaders, representatives of the religious groups, dear Rabbi Majeski,
• members of the diplomatic corps,
• dear students from schools and universities present here tonight,
• friends from the media,
• invited guests,
• distinguished ladies and gentlemen!

2. Auschwitz
“Never Again” – that was and that is what the survivors of the Shoah are calling for. And this is why people are gathering around the globe on the occasion of The Holocaust Remembrance Day. And this is why we are gathering here tonight to commemorate and to reiterate and reinforce our joint commitment to ensure that such a breach of civilisation will never happen again.
80 years ago, the “Red Army”, comprising of soldiers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and from many other parts of the Soviet Union reached Auschwitz and liberated the people who were imprisoned and tortured in the Concentration Camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Auschwitz has become something like the most prominent silent witness of the Shoah, of the systematic, meticulously planned and implemented industrial mass murder of millions of Jews, before and during World War II.
In Auschwitz alone, the German Nazis and their collaborators murdered more than one million humans, who were declared “not being worth living”, mostly Jewish women and men, as well as Sinti & Roma, homosexuals, people with special needs, prisoners of war and political opponents.

3. “Stolpersteine” – “stumble stones”
Tomorrow, I will walk the rainy streets of my hometown Hamburg and on my way, I will see in the pavements of Eppendorf many shiny brass plates. If I look closer, I will read a name and date of birth and information on the fate of that “name”, the fate of one of the many victims of the Nazi horror.
These “Stolpersteine” “stumble stones”- as we call them - are placed in front of the last places of residence, voluntarily chosen by the victims of the Shoah. These “Stolpersteine” help us to remember what happened more than 80 years ago. They help us to better sense the individual dimension of the horror. They help us to realise that the number of more than 6 million victims refer in fact to six million individual fates. They help us to honour the many lifes we have lost for ever too early, the lives of woman and man like:
 Lisbeth Engelmann, born 1882, deported 1941 to Lodz, murdered 09. FEB 1942
 Paula and Emil Heller, born 1896, deported 1942 to Auschwitz, murdered
 Georg & Selma Horwitz, born 1885, deported 1941, murdered in Minsk
 Fanny & Joseph Littmann, born 1875/1869, deported to Theresienstadt later to Auschwitz, murdered
 Else and Eric Stamm, born 1906, deported 1942, murdered in Auschwitz 17. JUL1942
 Claus-Jürgen Borchardt, born 1926, deported to Theresienstadt 1942, to Auschwitz 1944, murdered in Dachau 03. JAN 1945.
All humans with their love and laughter, their hopes and passion, their dreams and fears, their ambitions and achievements, relatives, friends, next door neighbours, the man/woman down the street. They all became victims of Adolf Hitler’s horrific ideology and were murdered by people who mostly voluntarily implemented the fatal program; the “Final solution to the Jewish question”, the code name for the murder of all Jews within reach, a policy of deliberate and systematic genocide, in the name of Germany.

4. Word of thanks
Against this horrific historic backdrop of atrocities “made in Germany” and beyond, committed by Germans and in the name of Germany, you may well imagine how much I as German Ambassador to Ghana as well as in my personal capacity, how much I am moved by the fact that you, Nitza and Roey Gilad, Israel’s Ambassador to Ghana, reached out to me open heartedly, despite the tremendous impact the Shoah had on your own family history.
You invited me to your house. You invited me to celebrate Shabbat with you and your friends. You invited me to join you here tonight. And you even offered me the privilege to speak here tonight. Thank you for your open heart - thank you for your trust.

5. In times like this
Given the tremendous and undeniable historic guilt and shame that our forefathers have laid on our shoulders with their sins, it is not an easy task to stand here and speak to you tonight.
In particular, in times like this, when anti-Semitism is again on the rise in Germany and beyond,
In times like this, when more and more young as well as elderly Jews living in Germany are flagging that they no longer feel safe, that they are worried about their security, that they are more and more staying away from living their religious belief openly in public, that they refrain from wearing their kippa in the streets of Berlin because they are afraid that they might be harassed, attacked or beaten up,
In times like this, when Jewish students at German Universities feel increasingly threatened by the scope of protests against the policy of the Israeli government and the use of symbols of terrorist Organisations that are seeking to erase the Jews and the State of Israel, like Hamas who waged the horrific, fatal terrorist attack on Israel on 7. OCT 2023, killing and injuring thousands, taking hundreds hostage,
In times like this, when even a courageous woman like Charlotte Knobloch, is sharing her worries. A truly positive minded woman, former President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (2006-2010) who edited a book with the guiding title “After the Holocaust: In Spite of Everything I am an Optimist”,
In times like this, when even such a remarkable woman wonders whether her optimistic hopeful view on Germany, on German society, on Germany’s democratic resilience is still justified.
In times like this, when more and more people, including well educated ones like judges and teachers are constantly crossing red lines with the aim to making fascist terminology socially acceptable again, creating a “new normal”, the “new common sense”, rewriting history, a history that is in the way of their political ambition to revive a radical right-wing Nazi movement and for that are not hesitating to deny - more and more openly - the historic truth of the Holocaust,
In times like this, taking the floor here tonight may not be an easy task, but it is certainly a meaningful one indeed.

6. Why remembrance matters
Since I delivered my first speech as German Ambassador to Ghana reflecting on the Holocaust on the occasion of The Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2022, several Ghanaians approached me later and asked me: Daniel, you seem to be soooo empathetic when you speak about this topic. Why are you so engaged and concerned about something that has happened long before you were born? You cannot be held responsible for any of these atrocities. You are not guilty. You did not do anything wrong. Why not forget and move on and make the world a better place?
The answer can be found – at least partially - in the question itself. We need to remember if we want to build a better place. We need to learn our lessons from our history, to take well informed decisions. We need to understand the dynamics that allowed all this to happen.
Since Sunday, there is a new, very prominent advocate of this “forget & reset” approach to history in politics. His name is nobody less than Elon Musk, the man who could not stop his right arm from shooting out in a stiff-arm salute at Donald Trump’s inaugural celebrations. Chris McGreal in The Guardian adds, that startled viewers mostly drew the obvious comparison.
This same Elon Musk, on Sunday attended an online party rally of the German right wing radical party AfD. And it was interestingly Elon Musk who called for less focus on the past. He complained that in Germany there is “Too much of a focus on past guilt. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even grandparents. We should be optimistic and excited about the future for Germany.”
Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk was puzzled and later commented “The words we heard from the main actors of the AfD rally about ”Great Germany“ and ”the need to forget German guilt for Nazi crimes“ sounded all too familiar and ominous. Especially only hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.”
German Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Seibert rightly responded in saying: that “Elon Musk doesn’t seem to know our country well at all. Nobody makes children feel guilty for Nazi crimes. We want them to grow up informed and responsible, applying the lessons of Germany’s past.”
Dani Dayan, Head of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem had stated earlier: “Failing to remember and acknowledge the dark past of Germany is an insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany.”
Margot Friedländer, an amazing personality, a Holocaust survivor, underscored when being asked why she is sharing her story with students at schools and universities: “I, she said, I share my story with and for all of you, because I love people and I do not want something like that to ever happen again”.
“Never again” Mr. Musk! that is the ultimate reason for commemorating, including holding a Holocaust Remembrance service like today and in the future. Never again will we allow your right-wing radical friends to destroy our democratic order and replace rule of law by the rule of the more powerful.

7. History never repeats itself. Man always does!
L’histoire ne se répète pas. L’homme fait toujour. (Voltaire)
Studying the past can provide valuable insights by recognizing recurring patters. Learning from past mistakes may help to take better informed decision for the future.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes (Mark Twain)
Please allow me, to very briefly share a few observations on dynamics that may serve as an explanation for the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi movement, the rise of totalitarianism in Germany, the breach of civilization that allowed the Shoah to happen.
But I will leave it to you - distinguished ladies and gentlemen and to you dear students - to look for the rhymes. Feel invited and inspired to reflect and to look for your rhymes - if any. May it help you to conclude some lessons learned you want to take home, for building the future you want for your continent.
Ideology – imperialism & colonialism
In her important book “The Origins of Totalitarianism” the philosopher Hannah Arendt draws a direct line from the European imperialistic thinking and the concept of colonialism in the late 19th century to the rise of totalitarianism in the first half of the 20th century in German and the Soviet Union.
The concept of European imperialistic thinking was based on the belief of European supremacy. Self-asserting your own greatness and the notion of your own supremacy implies necessarily and unavoidably the existence of people less valuable, less great and inferior. And from there it is only a small step to look down on something you might call primitive, minorities, vulnerable groups, and - to the extreme – people that are labeled “not being worth living”, humans are even de-humanized deprived from their basic human rights, the right to be heard, the right to life.
The European imperialistic thinking was the perfect breeding ground for discrimination, racism, anti-Semitism, including in academia. And this may explain why racist and anti-Semitic way of thinking managed to become socially acceptable even in a society like Germany, a society that at the time was known for leading edge academic research institution, in Medicine, Mathematics, Physic, Engineering, Philosophy ….and with a relatively advanced educational system.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
The role of media and technology
The Nazis used intensively and extensively media technology that was revolutionary at the time, such as movie industry, but most importantly the radio. On the request of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Communication, at the time they called it openly “Minister of Propaganda”, German industry produced a low-cost radio receiver “Volksempfänger” a “people’s receiver”.
It made radio reception technology affordable to the general public. With the help of these receivers, the Nazis managed to link the many atomized, isolated followers in all parts of the country. This radio receiver helped to create a feeling of collective belonging, and made the intrusion of the distant Nazi state into the domestic sphere possible.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Fake news
And in this world of propaganda, fake news were intensively used. Hannah Arendt underscored: The ideal subject for totalitarian rule are those people who do no longer differentiate between facts & fiction, true and false.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Handing over power
Hitler – in the end in January 1933 – did not seize power through a coup d’état, but the power was transferred to him within the existing constitutional framework and legal process. It was German President Hindenburg, who asked and invited Hitler to become Prime Minister.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Negotiate while intimidating
Hitler used a special mix of negotiation and intimidation, f. e. he asked his violent paratroops to surround the parliament building, to intimidate the MPs, and then told the MPs that it is on them to decide if there will be peace or civil war in Germany.
Hitler threatened the churches to interfere in religious affairs only to gain concessions from the Center Party. After having obtained promises of non-interference in religion, the Center Party finally joined with conservatives in voting for the complete surrender of the Parliament to the Executive lead by Adolf Hitler.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Demonizing the political opponent
The conservative center demonized other democratic parties left of center to the extent that - in the end - radical rightwing enemies of the parliamentarian democracy were perceived as the lesser evil. The same happened on the left of center where left wing more and more extremist were demonizing the center conservatives as being nothing but the enabler for the far-right radicals.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Out of control
The conservatives that helped to make Hitler prime minister were wrongly convinced that they could control Hitler and ‘tame’ the Nazi party.
Given the German nation being proud of freedom of speech and thought, Benno Reifenberg, (FAZ) was convinced that “it is a hopeless misjudgement to think that one could force a dictatorial regime upon the German Nation (..) The diversity of the German people calls for democracy.”
Jews were convinced that “nobody would dare to touch the constitutional rights” The Jewish German newspaper Jüdische Rundschau wrote on 31.01.1933 “within the German nation still the forces are active that would turn against a barbarian anti-Jewish policy”.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
big business
Adolf Hitler’s rise to power was possible only with the support from big business and new tech companies. A number of representatives of big business were openly calling on the President to hand over power to Adolf Hitler. Big business provided funds for Nazi campaign financing. Not all business leaders of course.
Robert Bosch was one of the remarkable exceptions. He was thoroughly convinced that imperialism and militant nationalism would harm people by standing in the way of justice and social equilibrium. He concluded that “this individual (Adolf Hitler) wants to be a statesman and doesn’t know what justice is.” But even Robert Bosch in the end collaborated with the regime to the extent that was perceived necessary and Bosch provided key technology to the German army in WW II.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Hitler’s discourse
Some elements that are commonly highlighted were: Shifting constantly the limits of moral self-restraint, using extensively hate speech, glorifying Darwinism and (physical) action, stressing self-assertiveness and claiming the natural right to rule the world, calling for living space for the German race, overstating the negative, creating moral panic, blaming and discriminating against minorities and vulnerable groups, misusing the freedom of speech for freedom to offend, to degrade, to harass, to dehumanize humans.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
Speed of history
In 1928, Hitler had less than one million followers. Within less than 5 years, this number rose to over six million.
After taking-over power, one of the first moves of Hitler was to free all imprisoned Nazis through an amnesty. It took him less than two months to establish absolute power. On 23. March 1933, less than two months after becoming prime minister, the Reichstag voted for the “Enabling Act” that granted Hitler ‘temporarily’ plenary powers and gave him the freedom to act without parliamentarian consent. And even without constitutional limitations.
The famous checks and balances where out of order. Within less than two years, he transformed a parliamentarian democracy into an authoritarian later totalitarian one party regime. In history sometimes time is flying.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
8. Lessons Germany learned
Let me highlight two main lessons Germany learned from the darkest page of German history. One is reflected in Art. 1 of our German Constitution: “The dignity of man shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority”. It is worth noting that the German constitution explicitly does not refer to Germans but to man, human, regardless of their nationality, race, colour, gender, sexual orientation et.al. there is no (!) human not being worth living in dignity.
Secondly, the role of Germany in the mass murder of Jews in Europe and beyond determines until today and for generations to come our very special relationship to the State of Israel and our unwavering support to people of Israel in their quest for living in freedom, security and peace. For us, the States of Israel’s right to exist is irrefutable.
At the same time, however, we always will advocate strongly for full respect of human rights for all and for the respect of the principles of international law, including the one on proportionality. And we will not refrain from reminding our friends that, if you want to live in peace and harmony and security with your neighbours, you need to ensure that your neighbours as well can live like you in peace, freedom and dignity and your neighbours must be allowed to master the future they want to see for themselves and their families by themselves.
Margot Friedländer in her remarkable puristic style phrased it as follows: There is nothing like Jewish, Christian or Muslim blood, there is only human blood.

9. Conclusion
Despite all these, let me try to conclude on a positive note. Democracies around the globe are in distress, anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination is on the rise.
However, unlike the “Republic of Weimar” in the 1920-30, Germany today can trust in a matured parliamentarian democracy with more than 75 years of history, that has proven to be resilient also in times of crises. It might not be perfect but it is by far the best we ever had and it is in our capacity to further improve it.
The European Union has provided and is providing a resilient framework for lasting peace in Europe. The fact that influential people like Mr. Putin and Mr. Musk are openly aiming at destroying the basic foundation of European Integration may serve as proof of the continued relevance of this unique institution. The troublemakers have rightly identified the European Union as the institution that stands up against them and tries to set a limit to their imperialistic ambitions. It might not be perfect but it is by far the best we have and it is in our capacity to further improve it.
Since the aftermath of WW II, the United Nations are offering a unique global platform for addressing global challenges and for global decision making. Structural reforms are overdue, most obviously regarding the composition of the Security Council that is still reflecting the realities of the post-war era, but not todays. It might not be perfect but it is by far the best we have and it is in our capacity to improve.
In the spirit of Charlotte Knobloch: “In spite of everything: I remain an Optimist.”

Thank your very much for your attention.