Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge attended the commemoration ceremony in Poland of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Around 50 survivors returned to the death camp and it was decided that at this anniversary there should be no political speeches, only the words of survivors. “It was deeply moving listening to their testimonies. We certainly needed to listen to them and be reminded of what they went through once again. We must never forget.” said the Deputy Secretary General.
He recalled that human beings are extraordinary in many ways in our creativity, in our love, kindness and willingness to help others and to do good. But also, most regrettably, and sometimes rather completely incomprehensibly – in our ability to do harm and hurt other human beings, in the worst possible ways imaginable. And in Europe itself, we have one of the worst examples of the latter in human history.”
“The systematic abuse and killing of millions of people in a network of concentration camps – death camps – during the Second World War. Targeting above all, Jewish people – but also Roma and Sinti, LGBTI people and other minorities, as well as political opponents.
More than 1.1 million people, most of them Jews, were murdered at the Auschwitz complex, making it the site of the largest mass execution of human beings ever recorded.
Let´s remember the words of the survivors today:
“I was just 6.5 years old when I was liberated, and my memories remain vivid. I remember watching from my hiding place as my friends were driven to their deaths. The courtyard was empty, and I thought to myself, ‘Am I the only Jewish child left in the world?”
“I urge everyone, especially the younger generation, to be vigilant and sensitive to all expressions of intolerance and resentment toward those who are different—be it religion, skin color, gender identity, or any other aspect. In today’s digital world, where it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between genuine discourse and hate cloaked in popularity, we must remain attentive.”
“We, the survivors, know all too well the consequences of such hatred. Let us be serious about the dangers to democracy. If those preaching division and hatred succeed, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past.”
“Our world is like a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is to not be afraid at all. We must resist fear, even as we witness the rise of antisemitism in today’s world—a force that once led to the horrors of the Holocaust.”
A long list of royalty, including King Charles, the King and Queen of respectively Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands and Spain, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, as well as a number of political leaders, including President Macron, Chancellor Scholz, European Union President Costa, Italy’s President Mattarella, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, Latvia’s President Rinkēvičs, Norwegian Prime Minister Støre, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and many others took part in the emotional and touching ceremony.
