Never forget (political phrase)

"Never forget" is a political slogan used to urge commemoration and remembrance for national 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. In 1962 Mao Tse Tung introduced the edict "Never Forget the Class Struggle" at the Eighth Chinese Communist Assembly and it became a leading slogan of the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s.

It is often used in conjunction with 'never again'.

History of the term
Though the exact phrase 'never forget' originated after the Holocaust, 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.