As we commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, that infamous place forever enshrined as ultimate example of man´s inhumanity to man, we must commit to act upon the compelling lessons from history´s largest death factory. We must learn from the unparalleled horrors of Auschwitz and the inaction and apathy that paved the way for Hitler´s Final Solution and the mass murder of millions of innocents.

Each generation faces challenges that it can ignore only at its own peril. In 2005, the Simon Wiesenthal Center urges humankind to memorialize the victims of the Nazi Holocaust by adopting the Simon Wiesenthal Center´s Auschwitz Moral Imperative.

1. Preventing A Nuclear Holocaust. The international community must unite to prevent the extremist religious regime of Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The deployment of such weaponry by fanatics will threaten the world with a nuclear holocaust. For the same reasons, the international community must also act to block North Korea´s nuclear weaponry.

2. Prosecuting Crimes Against Humanity. Building on the legacy of Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, the international community should hold accountable all those sponsoring and engaging in crimes against humanity from the genocide in Darfur, to the deploying of suicide bombers against innocent civilians, to the gassing of prisoners in North Korea.

3. Rejecting Hatred Of Jews. Sixty years after the Nazi Holocaust, antisemitism has reared its ugly head once again, on European soil. The 25 member states of the European Union must act decisively to thwart the resurgence of the world´s oldest hatred.

4. Rejecting Murder In The Name Of G-d. Religious leaders must denounce the forces of hate, racism and violent fundamentalist extremists from hijacking the agenda of their faithful.

5. Forging Middle East Peace With Security. The Palestinian/Israeli conflict must be resolved. Any solution must ensure the territorial integrity and security of democratic Israel, the Jewish state born out of the ashes of the Holocaust. (© Copyright 2005, Simon Wiesenthal Center 01/25/05)