Holocaust survivor warns of ‘history repeating itself’

WorldOpinion
21 Jan 2026 • 5:38 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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A Holocaust survivor has warned of ‘history repeating itself’ as she reflected on violence around the world.

Joanna Millan, born Bela Rosenthal, was deported with her mother to the Theresienstadt ghetto in northern Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic) in 1943. Mrs Millan’s dad was sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp where he was murdered on arrival.

Speaking on the current state of the world at a Holocaust memorial service in north London on Tuesday, Millan said it is “mayhem.”

“I think history is repeating itself,” she said, stressing that “ appeasement isn't the answer.”