JERUSALEM -- Israel held the annual event on Thursday to mark the UN-sanctioned International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in Israeli Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and Museum located in Jerusalem.

"Seventy-three years have passed since the fires of the Auschwitz crematoria were put out. Auschwitz has become a symbol of the Holocaust," Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in his address.

He added "the UN decided that the day the Red Army liberated Auschwitz should be an international day of remembrance for the Holocaust, for the Shoah. That decision recognized how important it is to remember the Holocaust. How important it is to teach future generations about the Holocaust, and to carry on the commitment: Never Again."

"The victims of that hatred were the entire Jewish people and their culture, which were marked for total eradication. On this day, the world remembers their fate, and identifies with their courage," said Avner Shalev, Chairman of Yad Vashem.

After his address, the president was accompanied by Avner Shalev, on a tour of the new "Flashes of Memory" exhibition which presents rare photographs taken by Jews during the Holocaust.

The "Flashes of Memory - Photography during the Holocaust" exhibition presents visual documentation from during the Holocaust. The exhibition features nearly 1,500 images, including photographs, albums, diaries and newspaper pages.