German parliament leader urges action against anti-Semitism, bigotry

At a ceremony remembering the millions of Jews and other persecuted groups killed by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust, the president of Germany's parliament called on residents of the country to again stand up against hatred and anti-Semitism.

"Let us all have the courage not to remain silent, but to resolutely oppose hatred and bigotry," Bärbel Bas said on Wednesday morning in the Bundestag, as the country's lower house of parliament is known.

She thanked the hundreds of thousands of people who had taken to the streets in recent weeks in support of democracy and against right-wing extremism in mass protests directed against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

"They have all shown that our democracy is diverse, vibrant and resilient," Bas said.

But she stressed that it is important for people to also stand up against racist and anti-Semitic remarks in everyday life, whether on the underground, among work colleagues or at school.

"Each and every individual can demonstrate that we are a society that respects every single person, regardless of religion, origin or appearance," Bas said.

The hour of remembrance was intended to mark Saturday's Holocaust Remembreance Day, which falls on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and death camp by soldiers of the Soviet Union's Red Army on January 27, 1945.

Under Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime, Jews were systematically persecuted and more than 6 million of them were brutally murdered.

The Nazi regime also viciously persecuted other groups as well, including other ethnic and religious minorities as well as political opponents and activists.