Holocaust Era Assets Conference
Speech delivered by
Štefan Füle, Minister for European Affairs
Prague, 26 June 2009
Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Czech Government welcome in
Prague!
Let me start with the two quotes.
The first:
“(...) the most interesting - although horrible - sight that I encountered
during the trip was a visit to a German internment camp near Gotha. The
things I saw beggar description. (...) I made the visit deliberately, in
order to be in position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever,
in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations
merely to ‘propaganda’.”
And the second quote:
“(This place) teaches us that we must be ever-vigilant about the spread
of evil in our own time, that we must reject the false comfort that others'
suffering is not our problem, and commit ourselves to resisting those
who would subjugate others to serve their own interests (…) To this
day, there are those who insist that the Holocaust never happened (...)
This place is the ultimate rebuke to such thoughts; a reminder of our
duty to confront those who would tell lies about our history (...) these
sights have not lost their horror with the passage of time, (this place) is
full of horrors, and the deaths of the people here shall not be in vain.”
1
- Both quotes come from the same place, from the Nazi concentration
camp in Buchenwald and its surroundings.
- Both come from the American Presidents. The first is from Dwight
Eisenhower, who was still a General of the American liberation army,
when he mentioned it, in the first days after the liberation of the camp.
The second was delivered by Barack Obama a couple of weeks ago,
during the anniversary of that liberation.
- Despite the fact that they are separated by 64 years, both quotes are
immensely up to date.
What happened during those 64 years? The world managed to divide
into two irreconcilable camps and – 20 years ago – managed to reunite
again. The former enemies are friends today, even allies. The formerly
disputed territories, which were the subject of cruel conflict, are today
peaceful territories with developed infrastructure, or sleepy villages
where life goes along from day to day.
But let’s also ask what did not happen during those 64 years. We meet
here today precisely because of things that did not happen. We are here
because of the injustices that are still to be rectified.
Even though six million innocent people died in Shoah, there were a
handful who managed to survive. What did those people live through in
these 64 years? How were they accepted by the society of that time?
What happened to their property, which they had to hand over or leave
behind in their homes?
No, we are not the first ones to ask. Many have done so before. And
many have contributed to bringing progress to the historical quest for
justice and reconciliation. This conference should however remind us
that even 64 years after the WWII, Shoah should not be confined to
2
history books. The reason for that is that it concerns to this very day
living people.
For the Czech government, organizing this conference has a special
meaning.
First, the Czech Republic has harboured for centuries one of the most
intellectually buoyant Jewish communities in Europe. Our cultural and
historical heritage is inextricably linked with Czech Jews. And in
Terezín, we eye-witnessed one of the darkest chapters of their history.
At times when antisemitic moods re-surface in European societies, we
see this conference as our contribution to countering these negative
trends.
Second, the Czech EU Presidency is an excellent opportunity for giving
the topic of Holocaust Era Assets the floor and importance it deserves.
To lend the outcomes of this conference legitimacy based on a genuine
European consensus, on shared European values and history. To send
out a clear message of commitment of the EU. Here I would like to thank
the European Commission for joining us in this line of thinking, for its
relentless support throughout the preparation of the conference and for
its determination to promote this idea on the European level.
Last but not least, we saw this event as an opportunity not only to
follow up on the results of the Washington conference, which dealt
mainly with property issues and injustices of the past. We want to add a
new, future-oriented dimension to this process. We want to discuss new
topics: Education on the past should prevent it from repeating. And
Social welfare of elderly holocaust survivors is a chance to ensure life
in dignity to those, that were deprived of it in the past. Supporting the
Czech government´s initiative to establish a European Shoah Legacy
3
Institute in Terezín should be one of the outcomes of this conference.
The institute should serve as a voluntary forum for promoting
developments in the areas covered by the Conference.
Ladies and gentlemen, four exciting days full of work ahead of us. I wish
you fruitful discussions and I thank you for your attention.
4