(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 25 - "Antisemitism, including the denial and distortion of the facts of the Holocaust, is rising across the world with devastating consequences for individuals, communities and democracies," UNESCO said today. The organisation announced that that the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Director-General Azoulay, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay tribute to the victims of Nazi persecution in an online ceremony on 27 January, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

UNESCO underlined that the "challenge in our times is monumental: 63 per cent of young Americans do not know how many died in the Holocaust; 47 per cent of Germans surveyed in 2020 responded that Germany was 'not particularly guilty'." According to UNESCO, the pandemic has accelerated denial trends and "has heralded an explosion of antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media platforms, many of which draw their inspiration from historic antisemitic tropes." (ANSA).