WIREDGOV

On the 27th of January 2015, seventy years after the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Allies, the EESC commemorated the international day by honouring the victims of the Holocaust. With the participation of the European Parliaments first Vice-President Antonio Tajani and the President of the Committee of the Regions Michel Lebrun, EESC president Henri Malosse brought together survivors, witnesses and young people for a moment of remembrance and reflection.

To join in the remembrance, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in cooperation with the European Parliament, the organisation  A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe (CEJI) represented by Rabbi Avi Tawil and the European Jewish Community Centre (EJCC) represented by Baron Alain Philippson, staged an event entitled "Learning from the Past, Learning for the Future".

"Remembrance is a historical duty. A duty of humanity towards the victims. A duty for those of us living at a time when new forms of savagery are emerging, under the guise of religious or sectarian fanaticism. As Europeans, let us remember that the European project arose out of the ruins of anti-Semitism in Europe, out of the discovery of the horrors of the concentration camps.", stated EESC president Henri Malosse.

Martin Gray, 92 years old Holocaust survivor shared his moving testimony:" In the camps I saw that men can change into animals. But I also saw solidarity, fraternity and love from men able to share bread and furthermore their weakened physical strength to help me. In my life I discovered that we cannot live without love :love of others multiplies our forces ; life without love is nothing. I never forgot that even at the worst of times, men is capable of good."

A message of hope and reconciliation was also conveyed by Simon Gronowski, 83 years old Holocaust survivor: "Reconciliation is worth much more than revenge, justice is worth much more than anger. Despite the tragic events recently, I trust on human kindness."

Recalling both the Holocaust and the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels against the Jewish community, EP Vice-President Antonio Tajani underlined "The anti-Semitic riots are a warning of the need to defend peace, tolerance, respect for human rights and for our civilisation, and to combat the globalisation of hatred in all its forms".

Further information, pictures and speeches of the event can be found on the EESC website.