On January 28, 2025, Humanity in Action hosted a Fellows-organized virtual gathering to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The 30-minute commemoration, held by current Democracy Fellows Moa Nordin and Felix Heimbach, offered a space for remembrance, healing, and reflection on the continued legacy of the Holocaust.
The event honored the millions of victims of Nazi crimes through a moment of silence, a personal reading, and a prayer for those who suffered. But it also served as a platform to explore intergenerational memory and the power of storytelling as a tool for reckoning with the past and shaping a more just future.
The gathering was grounded in the ongoing collaborative work between Moa and Felix, who have supported each other’s fellowship projects since the fall of 2024. Their partnership brings together two powerful and contrasting family histories: Moa is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors; Felix descends from individuals involved in perpetrating Nazi crimes. Through open dialogue and shared vulnerability, their collaboration confronts difficult truths and gestures toward the possibility of reconciliation and mutual accountability.