
Date
- Jan 31 2026
Time
- 10:00 - 12:15
Location
Organizer
Nederlands Auschwitz Comité
On the last Sunday of January, all Dutch victims of the Holocaust are commemorated during the Dutch National Holocaust Memorial. The day was previously known as Auschwitz Remembrance Day.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Last Sunday of the month
That the last Sunday in January was chosen was logical. The commemoration was about the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp on January 27, 1945. That commemoration is commemorated internationally as the International Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. That day takes place at the former camp itself. The commemoration on the last Sunday in January takes place in Amsterdam’s Wertheim Park. There, the Mirror Monument “Never Again Auschwitz” is located. This monument was designed in 1977 by Jan Wolkers (October 26, 1925 – October 19, 2007). This monument was once located in Amsterdam’s Ooster Cemetery, but was moved to Wertheim Park in 1993.

Source: Delpher.
History of the commemoration
De hemel blijft voorgoed geschonden. Het is een godsgruwelijke aanslag op alles waar een mens voor staat.
Heaven remains forever violated, a godawful assault on everything a human being stands for.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The destruction in 1993

Source: Delpher.

Source: Delpher.
Yet it was not entirely illogical to assume that the vandalism was by neo-Nazis. A letter was sent, claiming the vandalism on behalf of a right-wing extremist group. It was never made clear whether the letter was written by the perpetrator or not. The report in the Dutch newspaper Het Parool on February 6 did reveal that the director of the company was aware. He decided not to go to the police, the newspaper reported. It was thanks to the team of the television programme Crime Time that the police knew how it all went down.

Source: Delpher.
Vandalism in 1997, 1999 and 2006
Besides the vandalism in 1993, the monument has been vandalised twice more. These happened in 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2006. Only in the latter case was there an accident, as the information column was knocked over, as you can read in this report from the Volkskrant of August 11, 2006. In 2004, read this message from NU.nl, it was about “wantonness.”
Who is remembered?
What's it not
More information
International Holocaust Commemoration
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