<p>Pope Francis on Wednesday marked the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp by urging people to keep a close watch on ideological extremism, because "these things can happen again".</p>.<p>He spoke three weeks after displays of anti-Semitism surfaced at the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6 and two weeks after one of Montreal's largest synagogues was vandalised and almost set on fire.</p>.<p>Speaking at his general audience, held inside the papal library because of coronavirus restrictions, Francis said it was imperative that the world did not forget.</p>.<p>"To remember is an expression of humanity. To remember is a sign of civility. To remember is a condition for a better future of peace and fraternity," said Francis, who visited Auschwitz in 2016.</p>.<p>The Nazis and their allies murdered around 6 million Jews, as well as others, in German-occupied Europe.</p>.<p>More than a million people, most of them Jews, were killed at Auschwitz in southern Poland, which was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945. The vast majority were gassed to death.</p>.<p>Francis said society should never let its guard down against the dangers of nationalism.</p>.<p>"To remember also means being careful because these things can happen again, starting with ideological proposals that claim to want to save a people but end up destroying a people and humanity," he said.</p>.<p>"Be wary of how this path of death, extermination and brutality started," he said, referring to the Nazis' rise to power in the 1930s on a wave a extreme nationalism.</p>.<p>At the US Capitol riot, some supporters of former President Donald Trump wore clothes bearing anti-Semitic messages or displayed Nazi symbols.</p>.<p>One wore a T-shirt reading "Camp Auschwitz" and another wore a T-shirt with the inscription "6MWE," a far-right acronym that stands for "6 Million Wasn't Enough". </p>
<p>Pope Francis on Wednesday marked the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp by urging people to keep a close watch on ideological extremism, because "these things can happen again".</p>.<p>He spoke three weeks after displays of anti-Semitism surfaced at the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6 and two weeks after one of Montreal's largest synagogues was vandalised and almost set on fire.</p>.<p>Speaking at his general audience, held inside the papal library because of coronavirus restrictions, Francis said it was imperative that the world did not forget.</p>.<p>"To remember is an expression of humanity. To remember is a sign of civility. To remember is a condition for a better future of peace and fraternity," said Francis, who visited Auschwitz in 2016.</p>.<p>The Nazis and their allies murdered around 6 million Jews, as well as others, in German-occupied Europe.</p>.<p>More than a million people, most of them Jews, were killed at Auschwitz in southern Poland, which was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945. The vast majority were gassed to death.</p>.<p>Francis said society should never let its guard down against the dangers of nationalism.</p>.<p>"To remember also means being careful because these things can happen again, starting with ideological proposals that claim to want to save a people but end up destroying a people and humanity," he said.</p>.<p>"Be wary of how this path of death, extermination and brutality started," he said, referring to the Nazis' rise to power in the 1930s on a wave a extreme nationalism.</p>.<p>At the US Capitol riot, some supporters of former President Donald Trump wore clothes bearing anti-Semitic messages or displayed Nazi symbols.</p>.<p>One wore a T-shirt reading "Camp Auschwitz" and another wore a T-shirt with the inscription "6MWE," a far-right acronym that stands for "6 Million Wasn't Enough". </p>