The WeRemember campaign
Photo: World Jewish Congress
German corporations join Holocaust remembrance campaign
Senior administrators from Volkswagen, BMW and Siemens have joined the World Jewish Congress's campaign against anti-Semitism and hatred, and were photographed with placards emblazoned with the 'WeRemember' slogan; photos from the campaign to be screened on the walls of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp's walls until Saturday; 'Volkswagen recognizes its historic responsibility and is committed to combating anti-Semitism,' says the company's CEO Müller.
Heads of the enormous German corporations that supported the Nazi regime during World War Two joined the World Jewish Congress (WJC)'s international Holocaust memorialization initiative, dubbed, #WeRemember,
in anticipation of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked January 27.
The WeRemember initiative is an international campaign as part of which photos uploaded to social media networks with the slogan will then be screened at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp before and during International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The leaders of German juggernauts Volkswagen, BMW and Siemens, all of which supported Adolf Hitler's regime during the Holocaust, declared Tuesday that they too were joining the WJC's WeRemember initiative.
Volkswagen Chairman of the Supervisory Board Hans Dieter Pötsch and the company's CEO Matthias Müller were photographed holding placards with the campaign's slogan, as did Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser and BMW CEO Harald Krüger.
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Muller (L) and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Hans Dieter Potsch participated in the WeRemember campaign (Photo: World Jewish Congress)
"Volkswagen recognizes its historic responsibility and is committed to acting out against intolerance, racism and anti-Semitism, as well as to engender international understanding and humanity," said the company's CEO Müller.
"Today, learning from history is a significant portion of our organizational culture. It has been a difficult and painful process for the company, but we will never abandon this value," he vowed.
Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser (Photo: World Jewish Congress)
WJC CEO Robert Singer added, "The world will be marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day Saturday. This day is an opportunity to spread the message that never again truly does mean never again."
The WeRemember project is the largest such initiative to be undertaken in the world, whose origins date back to last year's International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The 2018 campaign will operate in 45 countries around the world and in 23 languages. More than 250 million people have been exposed to the project worldwide, and more than 150 million have already uploaded photos of themselves holding the WeRemember sign.
BMW CEO Harald Kruger (Photo: World Jewish Congress)
Photos of the campaign's participants have begun to be screened on the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp's walls Tuesday and will continue to be screened until Saturday. The photos will also be inundating social networks in an effort to drum up awareness for anti-Semitism and hatred the world over.
In only several weeks' time, WeRemember has become the number one hashtag on social networks in Germany and elsewhere.
WJC President Ronald Lauder said, "Anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and hatred towards the 'other' continue rearing their ugly heads even today. We have to remember the Holocaust, because the number of living survivors is dwindling and in mere decades, they will all be gone."
