Cyclist completes 47-hour trek to write ‘Never Again’ around Auschwitz

After nearly 47 hours of cycling, Czech cyclist Lukáš Klement has completed his 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) journey to create the world’s largest “Never again” sign.

Riding through Poland in harsh winter conditions that included snow, winds and freezing temperatures of -8 degrees Celsius (18° Fahrenheit), Klement rode a cumulative time of 46 hours, 56 minutes and 26 seconds on a route that spelled the phrase on the trail map ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“This is a victory of the spirit over the muscles,” Klement said after completing his trek. “The survival of the Jewish people enabled me to survive this journey. The story of Jewish survival is a victory of the spirit — and that is what gave me the motivation.”

Klement began his ride, organized in cooperation with Israel’s ZAKA Search and Rescue organization, in front of the infamous Gate of Death at the Auschwitz concentration camp on Thursday afternoon. The entrance to the camp bears the slogan “Arbeit macht frei,” German for “Work makes one free.”]

Klement, who is not Jewish, cooperated on this trip with ZAKA, which provides emergency response, rescue and recovery operations around the world. It was his first time working with the organization, a spokesperson said.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is held yearly on January 27, the day Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army in 1945.

The slogan “Never again” was used by liberated prisoners at the Buchenwald concentration camp to denounce fascism, and has become a call to internalize the lessons of the Holocaust.

During the journey, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sent Klement a message of support.

“I heard about your project, and I really felt it was important to support your work to help you carry your message forward,” Huckabee wrote in a letter shared on social media. “Bringing life into a place that has become a symbol of death is an initiative of profound significance. America stands with you.”

NEVER AGAIN ON WHEELS

Lukáš Klement a Czech cyclist finished his 1000km journey from the ‘Gate of Death’ last night, in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day this week.

This project was a symbol of hope and freedom and his dedication and determination to ride 1000km… pic.twitter.com/oj7Uq4hSWy

— Government Press Office ???????? (@GPOIsrael) January 19, 2026

Klement also received messages of support from the ambassador of Israel to the Czech Republic, the Embassy of Israel in Warsaw, the Consulate of Israel in New York, as well as communities from around the world, ZAKA noted. Thousands of followers from around the world tracked the ride in real-time using an online digital map, it added.

Klement said before the journey that he saw the ride as a response to rising hatred against the Jewish people around the world.

“After the attack in Sydney and just before Holocaust Remembrance Day, this is my answer to the terrorists: a cross-border, cross-cultural project that connects people regardless of race, gender, or religion,” Klement said.