Some one hundred former prisoners (five years ago they were two thousand) took part in the ceremonies commemorating the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In a few years time, the last direct witness of the Holocaust will have gone. What memories will we be able to preserve without them? What use is the Auschwitz Museum, since other subsequent genocides have shown that it has failed in its mission of preventing such repetition? How should we teach Auschwitz to the generations who will no longer have any direct link with this tragedy?
These were the questions that the Ministers of Education of the Member States of the European Union were asked to discuss at an exceptional meeting organised in Auschwitz along with the official ceremonies for which France was represented by its Junior Minister of Defence Hubert Falco, accompanied by former minister and camp survivor Simone Weil, historian Serge Klarsfeld, various members of Parliament and some thirty high school pupils. A large delegation from CRIF, led by Richard Prasquier, was also present.
In Paris, the Union of Auschwitz Deportees organised a memorial service at the Paris City Hall. The President of the Union of Auschwitz Deportees, Raphael Esrail, paid tribute to the work done by the Paris City Hall and to the involvement of Roger Herman, a member of CRIF’s Remembrance Committee.
The Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, said “We must keep the witness alive (…), we must do more to pass it on in schools, libraries, media centres (…) The City of Paris has given its support for the film telling about the Vel d’Hiv round-up in 1942: it was not so long ago that the values of humanity were flouted. We must continue to faithfully remember, so that humanity may continue to live”.
Several leading figures took part in the ceremony organised by UNESCO, including Irina Bokova, General Director of the organisation, Limor Livnat, Israel’s Minister for Culture and Sport, and Frederic Mitterrand, France’s Minister of Culture and Communication. In his speech, Minister Mitterrand called in particular on the younger generations to “remobilise this indispensable vigilance”, adding that “conscience is not affected by the passage of time and does not keep count of the years”. He was followed by Samuel Pisar, a camp survivor, who gave a moving testimony.
English
Français