Leaders of the city of Weimar, a cradle of German culture and democracy, vowed Saturday to fight racism and far-right extremism as part of ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the opening of the nearby Buchenwald concentration camp.

As part of ceremonies at the camp, where some 56,000 people perished behind its barbed wire fences or in incoming transports, Weimar city council members and survivors signed a statement pledging to honor victims' memories by fighting extremism.

"We are aware of our responsibility to keep the memory alive and pass it down from one generation to the next," the statement says.