Holocaust survivors told their horrifying story at an event organised by the President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society (PFWS). They gave a chilling testimony of how neighbours and friends suddenly turned against them during the Third Reich. Earlier in the day, they also talked to students.

It is imperative that such events are underlined and highlighted.

When a concentration camp survivor visited my school in Germany in the 1980s, when I was 12 years old, I was shocked, upset and angry. The camp was only three kilometres away from my village and I could not grasp how this could happen only 40 years earlier in my neighbourhood.

This history lesson shaped me for life. But history repeats itself. The prevailing political climate in many European and other countries is dangerous. Speaking of populism is belittling what is happening. We should call those involved what they are: intolerant extremists, racists and xenophobes who promote harmful nationalism.

During the PWFS event, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca gave an excellent speech which should inspire all of us to become aware. She demanded action from us democratic citizens.

We have to show that we are the majority and that liberalism of democracy should not be mistaken for weakness or indifference. We have to act now because if our children or grandchildren ask us in 20 years’ time what happened, we cannot say we did not know.