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Dav=
id Gur
The Society for the Research of the History
of the Zionist Youth Movement in Hungary
נאו=
ם
יוצא מן הכלל,
לדעתי.
<=
o:p>
Address by =
the
President of the State of Israel H.E. Shimon=
Peres at the Germ=
an
Bundestag January&nbs=
p; 27,
2010 The speech =
will be
delivered in Hebrew I stand her=
e before
you, as the President of the State of Israel, the home of the Jewi=
sh
People.While my heart is breaking at the memory of the atrocious past =
211;
my eyes envision a =
common
future for a world that is young, a world free of all hatred. A w=
orld in
which the words "war" and "anti-Semitism" will be dead
words. Distinguish=
ed
gathering, In the Jewi=
sh
tradition that accompanies us for thousands of years, there exists a pr=
ayer in
Aramaic recited when mourning the dead, in memory of fathers and
mothers, brothers and sisters. The mothers=
, whose
infants were torn from their arms, and the fathers, who watched in =
horror
as their children were pushed into the gas chambers and their child=
ren go
up in the smoke of the crematoriums, did not have the time to recite n=
or to listen
to this ancient prayer. On this occ=
asion,
ladies and gentlemen, I wish to recite this prayer, here and now, in=
the
name of the Jewish people, in memory of, and in honor of, the six mil=
lion
Jews who turned to ashes: "Exalt=
ed and
hallowed be His great Name throughout the world which He has created acc=
ording
to His will. May He establish His kingship, bring forth His redempt=
ion and
hasten the coming of His Messiah in your lifetime and in your days a=
nd in the
lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon, and s=
ay,
Amen." And the pra=
yer ends
with the words which became a symbol in the State of Israel, a d=
ream in
the Jewish world: "He, w=
ho makes
peace in His Heights, may He, in his compassion, make peace upon us, an=
d upon
all Israel. And they responded: Amen." My Friends,=
the
leaders of the German people and its representatives, In the Stat=
e of
Israel, and across the world, survivors of the Holocaust are gradually d=
eparting
from the world of the living. Their numbers are daily diminishing=
. And at the =
same
time, men and women, who took part in the most odious activity on=
earth
– that of genocide – still live on German and European soil, and i=
n other
parts of the world. My request =
of you
is: Please do everything to bring them to justice. This is not=
revenge
in our eyes. This is an educational lesson. This is an hour of gra=
ce for
the young generation, wherever they may be. That they may remember, a=
nd never
forget, that they should know what took place, and that they never,
absolutely never, have the slightest doubt in their minds that there is an=
other
option, other than peace, reconciliation and love. Today, the
International Remembrance Day for the victims of the Holocaust is the day on =
which
the sun shone for the first time sixty-five years ago, after six e=
vil
years, its rays revealing the full extent of the destruction of my peopl=
e. On that sam=
e day,
the smoke still rose above the bombed incinerators, and the blood-s=
tains and
ashes still heavily lay on the soil of the exterminati=
on camp
Auschwitz-Birkenau. The train-s=
tation
platform was silent. And the "selection ramp" was empty of people. On =
the
monstrous field of slaughter settled a deceptive atmosphere of tranquil=
ity. The ear cau=
ght only
the quiet, yet from the depth of the frozen ground emanated a =
scream
that broke human hearts, and ascended to the passive and silent heav=
ens. On January =
27th,
1945, the world awoke to the fact, somewhat too late, that six million=
Jews
were no longer among the living. This day no=
t only
represents a memorial day for the victims, not only the pangs of co=
nscience
of humankind in the face of the incomprehensible atrocity th=
at took
place, but also of the tragedy that derived from the procrastina=
tion in
taking action. This consti=
tutes
the lesson learnt from the world's inattention in the face of the risi=
ng
flames, and the killing machine that operated day after day, year after =
year,
with no opposition. Three years
beforehand, on January 20th, 1942, not far from here, in "Villa Wannsee,&qu=
ot; on
the shores of the beautiful lake, a group of senior officers and bureauc=
rats,
headed by Reinhard Heydrich, convened to devise and coordinate =
the
"Final Solution" plan for the "Jewish Question." Adolf Eichm=
ann
diligently worked on a document that identified the target population =
intended
for deportation and extermination. It encompas=
sed all
the Jews in the European continent. From the three million liv=
ing in
Poland, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union, to the two hundred Jews living=
in tiny
Albania. Eleven mill=
ion Jews
were marked to die. The Nazis p=
erformed
an effective job, and from Wannsee the path led to Auschwitz, =
to the
gas-chambers and the incinerators. I stand bef=
ore you
on this day and in this place, distinguished leaders and representat=
ives of
a different Germany, democratic, as the representative of the State o=
f the
Jews, of the State of the Survivors, of the State of Israel. I am humble=
d by the
significance of this daunting and elevated position. I believe and=
hope
that you feel as I do. I can see i=
n my
mind's eye, at this very moment, the imposing image of my deeply resp=
ected
grandfather, Rabbi Zvi Melzer, handsome and dignified. I was bless=
ed to
have been his beloved grandson. He was my guide and mentor. He was the =
one who
taught me Torah. I see him with his white beard and dark eyebrows, e=
nveloped
in his Tallith (praying shawl), among the congregation praying in =
the synagogue,
in the town where I was born, Vishniev in Belarus. I wrapped m=
yself in
the folds of his Tallith, and with much emotion listened to his clea=
r and
lovely voice. It is still ringing in my ears, as he recited the=
Kol
Nidrei prayer of Yom Kippur, in the hours and the moments when, accor=
ding to
our belief, the Creator of the world determines who to life and wh=
o to
death. I still rem=
ember
him at the train station from which I, an 11-year-old child, star=
ted on
my journey from my village to Eretz Israel. I remember =
his
poignant embrace. I remember the last words and the order that heard =
from his
mouth: "My boy, always remain a Jew!" The train w=
histled
and started on its way. I continued
watching my grandfather until he disappeared from sight. That =
was the
last time I saw him. When the Na=
zis came
to Vishniev, they ordered all the members of the community to
congregate in the synagogue. My grandfat=
her
marched in front, together with his family, wrapped in the same Tallit=
h in
which I enveloped myself as a kid. The doors were locked from the ou=
tside
and the wooden structure was torched. And the only remains of the whole
community were embers. There were no survivors. Distinguish=
ed
gathering, The Holocau=
st raises
painful questions that touch on the infinite depth of a man's soul.=
To
which depth can the evil in man sink? And to which extent can a people that knew c=
ulture
and respected intellect, remain silent? What kind of
atrocities can be performed? How much can a moral compass be silenced? A
rational deliberation be crushed? How can a nation consider itself to be
"a superior race" and others inferior? And the que=
stion
still remains today why did the Nazis see in the existence of Jews a g=
reat and
immediate danger? What induce=
d them
to invest in the killing machine such extensive resources? What motiva=
ted the
Nazis to continue operating with such determination to the very en=
d, even
though their defeat had already appeared on the horizon? Was a Jewis=
h power
threatening to block the "thousand-year Reich?" Could the persecuted =
people,
crushed by the boot of the oppressor, stop the destructive=
war
machine of the Nazis? How many di=
visions
were at the disposal of the Jewish communities in Europe? How many ta=
nks,
war-planes, guns? Ladies and
Gentlemen, The Nazi ra=
bid
hatred cannot be solely defined as "anti-Semitic." This =
is a
commonly-used definition. It does not fully explain the burnin=
g, murderous, =
beastly drive
that motivated the Nazi regime, and their obsessive resolve to
annihilate the Jews. The war's o=
bjective
was to conquer Europe; not to settle scores with Jewish history. And if we
constituted, we the Jews, a terrible threat in the eyes of Hitler's re=
gime,
this was not a military threat, but rather a moral threat. An oppositi=
on to
the desire that denied our faith that every man is born in the image o=
f God,
that we are all equal in the eyes of God, and that all men are equal.<= o:p> A Jew, even=
when
unable to defend himself, will still sanctify God's name, and fulfill=
the
commandments. Since the d=
ay when
the Jewish nation was founded, we have been commanded: "Thou =
shall
not kill!" "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself!"
"Seek peace and p=
ursue
it!" – in every situation, in every place. This na=
03;ve
Jew, who believes in these commandments, I now see in front of me, in the =
form of
my good grandfather, the most honest and beloved of men. The Nazis t=
ried to
demonize him.They burned him and his brothers alive. The flames =
burned
their corpses. But not their spirit. They =
tried to
depict my people in horrible propaganda films and on the pages of "Th=
e Strmer"
as parasites, sewer-rats, and the propagators of illnesses. The N=
azis
tried to forget, and induce others to forget, the values of justice and=
mercy. As a Jew, I=
always
carry the pain of the holocaust endured by my brothers and sisters=
. As an
Israeli, I regret the tragic delay in the establishment of the Jewi=
sh State
that left my people with no safe harbor. As a grandf=
ather, I
cannot come to terms with the loss of one and a half million chi=
ldren
– the greatest human and creative potential that could have changed Isr=
ael's
destiny. I am proud =
that we
are the arch-enemy of Nazi evil. I am =
proud of
the legacy of our forefathers, diametrically opposed to the doctrine of=
racism. I am =
proud of
the revival of Israel, the moral and historic answer to the attempt to =
erase
the Jewish People from the face of the earth. I thank the=
Lord that
peoples rose and crushed the madness, the evil and cruelty. The Holocau=
st must
always be prominent in our minds and in the conscience of humanity, a=
nd serve
as an unequivocal warning in perpetuity. As a =
binding
decree to uphold the sanctity of life, equality among men, freedom and=
peace. The murder =
of Jews
in Europe by Nazi Germany should not be seen as a kind of astrophysic=
al
"Black Hole," that ingests the past as well as the future. The H=
olocaust
must not become a barrier against faith in decency, in hope and in life=
. I ask mysel=
f today
how would the European Jews have wanted us to remember them? Only =
through
the smoke of the incinerators? Or to also remember life before the
Holocaust? If there is=
a
collective voice for the millions of European Jews, this voice calls upon =
us to
look ahead. To be what the victims could have been and were not. &=
nbsp;To
create anew what we lost when they were annihilated. The contrib=
ution of
German Jewry, who identified with their country, to fields such=
as
culture, science, the economy, and the standing of Germany as a whole, was
extensive, out of proportion with the size of the community. In the thou=
sand
years of their existence, the Jews of Europe moved with the forces of E=
urope's
advances. From the go=
lden era
of Spain to the golden era of Germany. The Jews of=
Europe
were instrumental in advancing and developing the spheres of science,
technology, the economy, literature and the arts of this continent.<= o:p> This they a=
chieved
because when they were banished from their countries, they were f=
orced
into a nomadic life. They were well-versed in literature, multi-lingu= al merchants, a people blessed with doctors, writers, scientists<= o:p> and artists=
. Many
of them played prominent roles in Germany's culture and contributed=
to the
world at large. I am overwh=
elmed at
the thought of the tremendous stream of visionaries and inventors t=
hat
burst forth from the foundations of the Jewish towns, the Jewish ghet=
tos.
From the homes of the Jewish bourgeoisie, when Jews were permitted t=
o enter
the gates of the universities. As with the=
stroke
of a wand, there appeared Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Bube=
r, Karl
Marx, Herman Cohen, Hannah Arendt, Heinrich Heine, Moshe Mendelson, =
Rosa
Luxemburg, Walther Rathenau, Stefan Zweig and Walter Benjamin. Common to t=
hese
dissimilar people is their tremendous contribution to human thinking, t=
heir
contribution to modernism in their own exceptional way. They guided=
the
sight of Europe and the world to a new future. And now we =
are left
with the decisive lesson: "Never again" – never again a racist doct=
rine. Never again=
the
feeling of superiority. Never again=
a
so-called divine authority to incite, murder, scorn the law, deny God an=
d the
Holocaust. Never again=
ignore
blood-thirsty dictators, hiding behind demagogical masks, who utter m=
urderous
slogans. The threats=
to
annihilate a people and a nation are voiced in the shadow of weapons of =
mass-destruction,
which are held by irresponsible hands, by irrational =
thinking
and in an untruthful language. To prevent =
another
holocaust, we must educate our children to respect human life and to=
promote
relations between peoples based on peace. Respect ind=
ividual
cultures and universal values, turn every time anew to the Ten
Commandments. Unlock scie=
ntific
secrets with lit torches, microscopes and telescopes, to advance int=
o the
realm of new remedies for human beings and their souls. Food for th=
e hungry,
water for the thirsty, air to breathe. Knowledge for humankind.<= o:p> As the Brit=
ish
Mandate came to an end, David Ben-Gurion, leader of the newly revived Jew=
ish
nation, declared the establishment of the State of Israel. The Arabs r=
ejected
the U.N. resolution and their armies attacked Israel. Indeed, a f=
ew hours
after its Declaration of Independence, seven Arab armies invaded Isr=
ael,
with the object of destroying it even before it was established=
. We faced th=
em alone.
With no allies, with our backs to the last shores of hope that t=
he
Jewish People still maintained. Had we been
defeated in war, this could have been the end of our people. The
IDF won this desperate battle, in which historical justice and
human heroism joi=
ned
forces. Holocaust survivors were already serving in the IDF, and some of=
them
fell in the line of duty. The small I=
srael,
while it was still licking its wounds, immediately opened its gates t=
o the
remnants of the Holocaust survivors and the multitude of Jewish refu=
gees
from Arab countries. All other gates were closed to them. Distinguish=
ed
gathering, We remember=
that as
we were still bleeding from our wounds, help came from an unexpect=
ed
quarter, from the new Germany. Two leaders=
, prominent
in the annals of history, stretched their hands out one to the =
other,
from the two sides of the abyss: Chancellor =
Konrad
Adenauer, the father of the Democratic Federation of Germany, an=
d David
Ben-Gurion, the founding father and first prime minister of the Stat=
e of
Israel. On Septembe=
r 27th,
1951, from the Bundestag podium, Adenauer spoke about the responsibil=
ity of
the German people for the crimes of the Third Reich against the=
Jewish
people, and the intention of his government to devise a compensation
agreement for the loss of Jewish property and help in the revival pro=
cess of
Israel. The decisio=
n of the
government of Israel to hold direct negotiations with the German
government provoked a stormy reaction thus far never experienced. Holocaust v=
ictims
with death camp numbers embedded in their arms were among the stone-t=
hrowers
at the Knesset and there were those who sided with Ben-Gurion.=
Ben-Gurion =
stood by
his decision: there is a new Germany. With it we have to discuss the=
future,
not only the past. The distres=
sed
Knesset gave its consent. The restitu=
tion
payments helped in Israel's economic recovery and contributed=
to its
accelerated development. It was my p=
rivilege
at the time, as a young man, to serve as his assistant, and later as
Ben-Gurion's deputy at the Ministry of Defense. I learned that=
while Israe=
l was
building its home, it also had to defend its sons. Also here w=
e found
an attentive German ear, providing us with defense equipment.<= o:p> Unique ties
developed between Germany and Israel. The friends=
hip that
was established did not develop at the expense of forsaking t=
he
memory of the Holocaust, but from the memory of the dark hours of the past=
. In
view of the joint and decisive decision to look ahead – towards the=
horizon
of optimistic hope. Tikkun Olam – putting the world aright. The bridge =
built
across the ravine was built by painful hands and shoulders that were c=
arrying
the burden of memory. It rested on strong moral foundations=
. We built a =
living
memorial for our brothers and sisters. With ploughshares that turned=
the
arid desert into thriving orchards. With labora=
tories
that generated new life. With defense forces able to defend our
survival. On the pillars of an uncompromising democracy. We believed=
, and
continue to believe, that the new Germany will be doing whatever ne=
eds to
be done to ensure that the Jewish state will never again have to fig=
ht for
its survival alone. That murder=
ous and
condescending dictatorships will never again raise their heads, in o=
ur era. David Ben-G=
urion,
who predicted a different Germany, was right. Thank you.<= o:p> From Konrad
Adenauer, who found a common language with David Ben-Gurion, and Willy Brand=
t, who
kneeled in memory of the Warsaw Ghetto heroes, and you, Members of =
the
Bundestag and the Bundesrat, from Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl, and o=
ther
leaders, you strengthened the foundations and ties of friendship.=
And institu=
tions,
financial organizations, cultural centers, intellectuals and doers, =
who contributed
to the enrichment of these unique relations. You, Presid=
ent
Horst Kצhler, you declared at the Knesset in Jerusalem that "the
responsibility for the Holocaust is part of the German identity." We=
very much
appreciate this. And you, Ma=
dam Chancellor,
Angela Merkel, you have conquered the hearts of our nation =
with
your sincerity and your warmth. You said to the American Senate and =
House of
Representatives that "an attack on Israel will equate an attack on
Germany." We shall not forget this. Distinguish=
ed
Ladies and Gentlemen, Close to si=
xty
years have passed since the founding of the State of Israel. We have wit=
hstood
the test of nine wars. We reached =
two
peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan. We gave bac=
k that
which fell into our hands in the wars to the countries with whom w=
e made
peace. We remained=
a
country small in size and poor in raw material. Our land is=
barren,
yet we were still successful in developing a model agriculture
esteemed by many to be one of the best in the world. We compensa=
ted for
the lack of natural resources with cutting-edge scientific =
and
technological advances that have brought us to the forefront of scientif= ic developments. These accomplishments make up for the smallness<= o:p> of our land=
. We have see=
n an ingathering
of exiles. The major part of the Jewish people today lives=
in
Israel. We have reg=
ained
our language. We are the =
only
country in the region in which its citizens speak the same language th=
at was
spoken four thousand years ago – the Hebrew language, the language of=
the
Bible. Jewish hist=
ory
continues to move forward on two parallel tracks: The moral t=
rack,
encapsulated in the Ten Commandments. The document which was written=
some
three thousand years ago, has not required any change and has become =
the
basis of western culture. And the sci=
entific
track, which unravels hidden secrets and breaks genetic codes, conc=
ealed in
the past from the eyes of men and which, unraveled, change our =
lives. Israel is a=
Jewish
and democratic state. In it some million and a half Arab citizens li=
ve with
equal rights. We shall not allow discrimination against anyone on a=
ccount
of their nationality or faith. We overcame=
the
global economic crisis and have returned to growth. Our culture=
is modern
and traditional at one and the same time. Israeli dem=
ocracy
is ebullient. Without a dull moment. It never remains idle, not e=
ven in
times of war. Israel's vi=
ctories
did not eliminate the dangers it faces. We do not crave for land wh=
ich is
not ours. We do not wish to rule other peoples. But do we have the ri=
ght to
close our eyes. Our national
ambition is distinct and clear, to make peace with our neighbors.<= o:p> Israel supp=
orts the
principle of the "two state solution". We paid a p=
rice in
wars, we did not hesitate to also pay a price for peace. Also today =
we are
prepared to relinquish territories to achieve peace with the Palesti=
nians
and to enable them to establish an independent, prosperous and peacefu=
l state. Like our
neighbours, we identify with the millions of Iranians who revolt against
dictatorship and violence. Like them w=
e reject
a fanatic regime, which contradicts the United Nations Charter.&nb=
sp; A
regime which threatens destruction, accompanied by nuclear plants and =
missiles
and who activates terror in its country and in other countries.<= o:p> This regime=
is a
danger to the entire world. We want to =
learn
from the Europeans, who unshackled Europe from a thousand years of wa=
r, and
bitterness and enabled Europe's young to substitute the hostility o=
f their
forefathers by brotherhood. It would be=
wise to
learn from their experience, to dream about a Middle East in whi=
ch its
countries will depart from the conflicts of their parents on behalf o=
f peace
for their children. Establish a=
modern
regional economy that would fight new and common challenges:=
Hunger,
desertification, sickness and terror. Promote sci=
entific
cooperation to improve the standard of living and secure quality of =
life. The common =
god of
all is the god of peace, not the god of war. Distinguish=
ed
gathering, I stand her=
e before
you as a man who believes that it is in your power, and in our powe=
r, to
contribute to the creation of a new history. Threats on =
Israel
will not divert its heart from peace. I believe t=
hat peace
is attainable. I stand her=
e before
you as the son of a people that aspires to contribute in every way t=
hey can
to attain a world which is enlightened and lucid, where men will ac=
t as
human beings to human beings. The Interna=
tional Holocaust
Remembrance Day is a day of communion and reflection.=
An hour of
education and hope. I started w=
ith
Kaddish and will end with the Hatikva: "In th=
e Jewish
heart, a Jewish spirit still sings, And the eye=
s look
east, toward Zion, Our hope is=
not
lost, our hope of two thousand years, To be a fre=
e nation
in our land, In the land=
of Zion
and Jerusalem." Permit us, =
allow
yourselves, to dream and realize the dreams. =3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
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