Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday recalled the 'tragedy' of the Holocaust in which six million Jews perished after Poland this week marked the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. 'We cannot forget the major events which took place during one of the most terrible conflicts in history, which left tens of millions dead and provoked so much suffering for our beloved Polish people,' said the pope, who is German, during Sunday's Angelus prayers. 'It was conflict that saw the tragedy of the Holocaust and the extermination of so many other innocents,' said Benedict, adding that 'the memory of these events call on us to pray for the victims and for those still wounded in their bodies and in their hearts.' The leader of the Roman Catholic Church made his remarks in Viterbo, a village north of Rome that was the seat of the papacy during the 13th century, where he celebrated an open air mass. The pontiff also called for renewed efforts to achieve a lasting peace in this era so as not to repeat the 'barbarism' of World War II and to give the new generation, 'a culture and lifestyle based on love, solidarity and respect for others.' He said religion can and must promote an attitude of 'pardon and reconciliation against violence, racism, totalitarianism and extremism.' 