Eisenhower’s great-grandson warns Holocaust denial is rising 80 years after WWII in Europe ended

Eighty years aft the Holocaust, acold excessively galore radical are either downplaying its severity oregon denying it altogether, warned Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, great-grandson of erstwhile President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

His remarks came arsenic nations astir the satellite connected Thursday commemorated the 80th day of Victory successful Europe Day.

On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany formally surrendered to the Allied powers, bringing an extremity to the warfare successful Europe—a struggle that claimed the lives of astir 40 cardinal people, including the extermination of 6 cardinal Jews.

Last month, Eisenhower Atwater took portion successful the March of the Living connected Holocaust Remembrance Day, walking alongside survivors and thousands of participants from astir the world. The march traces the way from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the Nazi decease camps successful occupied Poland, successful a solemn tribute to the victims and successful grant of the survivors and their liberators.

"When you’re sitting with 80 Holocaust survivors and some you and they are crying due to the fact that of however peculiar the infinitesimal is—and they archer you, ‘Without your great-grandfather, this ne'er would person happened’—I say, without your bravery, this ne'er would person happened," Eisenhower Atwater told Fox News Digital connected Wednesday,

ISRAEL PAUSES AS THE JEWISH STATE HONORS AND REMEMBERS VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST

The Ohrdruf attraction campy adjacent Buchewald, Germany. Then-American Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, commandant successful main of the European Allied forces, and his soldiers discovered 70 prisoners who had been changeable down successful the courtyard successful Germany connected April 4. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

"One idiosyncratic equals aggregate lives that were saved. It wasn’t conscionable the liberation of the camps—it was redeeming generations," helium added.

Among the march’s participants was Israel Meir Lau, erstwhile main rabbi of Israel and a kid subsister of Buchenwald, who personally met Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the Allied violative against the Nazis successful Europe, during the camp’s liberation.

Also remembered was Chaim Herzog, begetter of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who was connected manus for the march. A British service serviceman during World War II, Chaim Herzog played a relation successful liberating the Bergen-Belsen attraction camp. His father, Yitzhak Isaac Halevi Herzog—who would besides go a main rabbi of Israel—met with Gen. Eisenhower successful 1946 arsenic portion of a ngo to assistance Jewish survivors crossed postwar Europe.

Eisenhower Atwater called his inclusion "humbling" and said the march allowed him to "sit and speech with unsung heroes."

Merrill Eisenhower Atwater and Eva Clarke successful Auschwitz connected April 23, 2025. (Photo by Chen Schimmel /International March of the Living)

One subsister successful particular, Eva Clarke, near a heavy impression. "She’s 1 of the kindest souls I’ve ever met. Finding retired that the state ran retired conscionable a mates days earlier she was born—that’s divine intervention," helium told Fox News Digital. "She led the way. Just an unthinkable pistillate with an unthinkable story. She should animate everyone."

Clarke was calved connected April 29, 1945 astatine the gates of Mauthausen attraction camp, 1 of lone 3 known babies to person survived commencement there.

Clarke’s mother, Anka Kauderova, endured 3 and a fractional years successful attraction camps: Theresienstadt successful then-Czechoslovakia, Auschwitz, and the Freiberg enslaved labour campy and armament mill successful Germany. She was yet transported successful unfastened ember wagons, on with 2,000 different prisoners, connected a grueling 17-day travel without nutrient and with minimal h2o to Mauthausen.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT HERZOG HIGHLIGHTS ANTISEMITISM IN UN SPEECH AS NEW REPORT SHOWS SHOCKING TREND

"My parents were successful Theresienstadt for 3 years, which was unusually long. They were young, strong, and capable to work. To immoderate extent, it was a transit campy to a decease camp," Clarke told Fox News Digital.

"At the extremity of September 1944, their luck ran out. My begetter was sent to Auschwitz, and incredibly, my parent volunteered to travel him the adjacent day. She didn’t cognize wherever helium was going and, ever the optimist, believed it couldn’t get worse and they’d survive," she said.

Anka ne'er saw her hubby again. An eyewitness aboriginal told her that helium was changeable and killed successful the decease march adjacent Auschwitz connected Jan. 18, 1945. Auschwitz was liberated by the Russian service connected Jan. 27.

In 1943, Anka became pregnant. "It was dangerous, but she met my begetter secretly. Becoming large successful a attraction campy was considered a transgression punishable by death," Clarke said.

Eva Clarke arsenic a babe held by her parent successful Mauthausen attraction campy aft liberation. (Courtesy: Eva Clarke)

Her member was calved successful February 1944 but died of pneumonia 2 months later. "Had my parent arrived astatine Auschwitz with a babe successful her arms, some would person been sent to the state chamber. Nobody knew she was large again—with me."

In April 1945, Anka was sent to Mauthausen. "It’s a beauteous colony connected the Danube successful Austria, but the campy sits connected a steep elevation down it. When my parent saw the sanction astatine the bid station, she was shocked—she had heard however horrific it was. That daze apt triggered her labor, and she began giving commencement to me," Clarke said.

She credits her endurance to timing. "On April 28, the Nazis ran retired of gas. I was calved connected April 29. Hitler committed termination connected April 30. On May 5, the American 11th Armored Division liberated the camp."

When the Americans arrived, they brought nutrient and medicine—though many, weakened, died upon receiving them. Three weeks later, erstwhile Anka regained strength, U.S. forces repatriated her to Prague. There, Anka met her 2nd husband, and the 2 near to debar surviving nether communism, yet settling successful the U.K.

Eva Clarke, a Holocaust subsister calved successful the Mauthausen attraction campy successful 1945, meets Merrill Eisenhower, great-grandson of President Dwight Eisenhower, successful Washington, D.C., connected Feb. 26, 2025.  (Photo by Yossi May/International March of the Living)

"I consciousness Merrill is my caller champion friend," Clarke said of Eisenhower Atwater. "It was overwhelming to conscionable idiosyncratic whose great-grandfather played specified an important relation successful ending the war. I was delighted to reconnect with him again successful Auschwitz a fewer weeks ago. Everyone wanted to convey him for what his great-grandfather did."

Clarke volition instrumentality to Mauthausen this Sunday to people the 80th day of its liberation by U.S. forces. "I’ll beryllium determination with 2 different babies who were calved nether akin circumstances. We are truthful grateful, I can’t adjacent explicit it," she told Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Reflecting connected the motivation clarity his great-grandfather exemplified, Eisenhower Atwater underscored that we are each quality beings first.

"We each cognize close from wrong. It is incorrect to termination people, incorrect to enactment babies successful ovens, incorrect to enactment radical successful state chambers. That’s clear," helium said.

He acknowledged that Holocaust denial often stems from disbelief. "It’s casual to accidental thing didn’t hap due to the fact that it’s hard to comprehend the decease of that galore people. I get that. But it did happen. Nazi Germans killed 10,000 radical a day—it’s well-documented. They documented it themselves, and the Allied forces saw it first-hand.

"Nobody truly wants to speech astir the decease of six cardinal radical implicit a five-to-six-year period," helium added. "But it’s the truth."