The phrase "never forget" is a commemorative political slogan widely used to encourage remembrance for national and international tragedies. These have included the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, the Holocaust in Europe during World War II, the Armenian Genocide of the 1910s, and other acts of genocide and mass murder.
It is often used in conjunction with "Never Again".
History of the term
Similar terms have been used in times before, including "lest we forget" at the end of the "Ode of Remembrance".
From the late 1940s to 2001, the phrase was used to protest genocide. While the main message of "never forget" is to remember the past so history does not repeat its mistakes, it also arguably implies vengeance and militarism, especially after 9/11 when the term was used by supporters of the War on Terror.
The phrase has been used by U.S. President George W. Bush and by President Barack Obama.
A variation of the phrase is used as a slogan of the Virginia Tech massacre of April 16, 2007. This variation, "neVer forgeT", uses the capital letters so that the phrase implies "never forget VT" (VT is an abbreviation of the school's name).