The Holocaust, which we commemorate here today at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel; the Holocaust in which 6 million innocent Jews were murdered, was a unique event in history. This is because in the Holocaust, man used modern technology to annihilate a people in a calculated, scientific manner – a death industry.
The viruses of the fatal disease known as antisemitism have developed antibodies that are not impressed by the lessons of past events and do not accept today’s norms. Instead, they lie in wait for the day when evil will once again rear its head.
Skinheads in Berlin give the Nazi salute, Hungarian fascists organize marches through the streets of Budapest, Muslim fanatics set fire to synagogues in France, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” are sold in Japan, and on Cairo and Damascus television, films are broadcast depicting the Jews as monsters who suck the blood of little children.
For the president of Iran, the fact that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust is not sufficient. He thinks – he believes that another six million superfluous Jews are still living in Israel. He plans to have weapons of destruction at his disposal that will make the gas chambers of Auschwitz look like child’s play. Tonight, the six million victims are talking to us from beyond the grave:
“We thought that it couldn’t happen. We relied on the kindness of others. We believed that insanity had its limits. By the time we realized we had been deluding ourselves, it was already too late. Don’t follow in our footsteps!”
The enlightened world advises us to compromise and to take risks for the chance of peace. And on Holocaust Remembrance Day we ask the enlightened world, we ask all those who moralize: what will you do if we take risks, and sacrifice people, and put our trust in you – and something goes wrong? What if the other side doesn’t behave as anticipated, but instead bombards us with ammunition, chemical warfare or even nuclear weapons? What then? Will you apologize, tell us you made a mistake? Will you send bandages? Will you open orphanages for the children who survive? Will you pray for our souls?
The message we send to the world today is as follows:
If you want to understand what drives us, look to the Holocaust. The Holocaust is with us every day, even in our dreams. And when we say “never again”, we mean that we will never take such risks again. We will not allow another Yad Vashem to be established in our memory. We, the Holocaust survivors, are satisfied with your promise that the Israeli government will act immediately to ensure the welfare of those Holocaust survivors who cannot afford to live with dignity. For they deserve at least that: dignity.
