“We Hope UNESCO will take the Necessary Measures for Israel to Return”
Paris
This 15th annual essay competition, co-organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre - Europe (CSW), the Association Verbe et Lumière- Vigilance (VetL-V) and the Russian Holocaust Centre (RHC), invites five student laureates to Paris to present their research projects at UNESCO.
(left to right) seated: Holocaust child survivor Robert Créange, Ilya Altman, Rabbi DelphineHorvilleur, Stefania Giannini, François Picard, Francis Kalifat, Graciela Vaserman Samuels ; standing: Sheila Ryan, Amb. Massimo Riccardo, Olga Drozhzhina, Cécile Rivière, Gabriel Paulus,Katharina Bonnenfant, Evgenii Vlasov, Karel Fracapane, Stephane Teicher, Alexeiy Kovalenko, Amb. Claudia Reinprecht, Amb. Alexander Kuznetsov, Alla Gerber, Shimon Samuels,Richard Odier, Victoria Shestakova, Angelina Sudeikina, Alex Uberti, Evelyne Monas
This year’s winners are from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Saratov and Kostroma... the fifth is an Austrian volunteer at the RussianHolocaust Centre, from Vienna.
Attended by the Permanent Delegations of Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the President of CRIF (the umbrella body ofFrench Jewry), the proceedings were opened by Dr. Stefania Giannini, Associate Director General for Education at UNESCO.
She characterized the Holocaust as “not like any other issue, teaching us how an ideology of hatred takes roots and contaminatessociety. How fragile institutions submit.”
Russian Ambassador Kuznetsov focussed on collective memory, “how 2.7 million Jews murdered were Soviet citizens, how 80% of theGerman war machine was pitted against and ultimately destroyed by the Red Army.”
CRIF President Francis Kalifat emphasized the Shoah “as the result of antisemitism - a social sickness”... “the struggle againstantisemitism is not a menu from which to chose. Antisemitism from all sides must be countered.” He stressed the “need for recognition that hate for Israel is hate for Jews.” He congratulatedPresident Macron’s decision for France to adopt the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) Definition of Antisemitism.
With the laureates at the Yitzhak RabinWall, given by Israel, bearing the UNESCO Charter preamble,“since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of menthat the defences of peace must be constructed” in ten languages, including Hebrew.
Alla Gerber, Chair of the RHC, noted that “the Holocaust was not discussed in post-war SovietUnion: Stalin’s so-called ‘Jewish doctors plot’ was a form of genocide against memory... only in 1992, after Perestroika and the return to democracy, we started from scratch with memory educationand prevention of antisemitism.”... “Historically, the Holocaust was mainly against the Jews, but it is a topic that concerns all humanity.”
Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur spoke of the etymological origin of “Midor Ledor” (“from generation togeneration”): “Le Dor, as in weaving a basket, rope strands are attached to each other, each link strengthening the tie between what was and what will be... From generation to generation, Jewishtradition builds something strong upon something weakened or broken.”
She witnessed: “I grew up in a world of silence, as my grandparent survivors lived in a sleepytorpor - as if they were an endangered species - and never spoke about their ordeal... I sought the answers in Holocaust literature as I heard the echo of their silence. As third generation, weare walking through a forest of uprooted lives, and serve as guardians of their memory.”
François Picard, anchorman of France 24 television, recalled when he first met Shimon Samuels“during a Nazi collaborationist’s trial that unveiled personal and collective crimes, while at the same time, the ‘Never Again!’ was happening again in Rwanda.” He spoke of news stories makingthe past relevant: “A story has legs... the anniversary of D-Day differs from year to year. It is necessary to break down the echo chambers through exercises such as this annual Holocaust essaymeeting.” He stressed that "a genocide requires dehumanization - its antidote is empathy."
Dr. Shimon Samuels, Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, who chaired themeeting, recalled a gathering, international and inter-generational, of genocide survivors (nativeAmericans, Armenians, Jews, Cambodians, Rwandans...), held in Kigali, Rwanda, a few months after the genocide. “Seated in a circle in the twilight, each presented stories - of a suitcase, of apotato, etc... There was no pecking order of suffering, just perfect empathy.”
Picard’s uncle, child survivor Robert Créange - son of a published poet engaged in intellectualresistance to Nazism - was rounded up with his entire family by the French police and held at the Vel d’Hiv stadium in Paris, listed for deportation to Auschwitz. He accentuated the sadism of thepolice, cutting the stadium’s water supply, and the frequent suicides among the starving detainees.
He also recounted how the family managed to flee Paris and, on their way to the south of France,his parents’ sacrifice allowed him and his sister to escape and ultimately reunite with the only other family survivor, their elderly grandfather, in 1946.
Dr. Ilya Altman, RHC founder and co-Chair, noted that essays had even been received from Mexico,South Korea and worldwide, but not yet from France. He expressed hope for major international efforts in sensitizing young generations. He then introduced the five laureates whopresented summaries of their winning papers (see in attachment).
- Olga Drozhzhina, M.A. student at Moscow State Pedagogical University (Moscow,Russia): “Reflection of the Holocaust in world literature”
- Gabriel Paulus, student at the University of Vienna (Austria): “The Fate of Austrian Jews in the Soviet Union (during the Nazioccupation)”
- Victoria Shestakova, M.A. student at Saint-Petersburg State University(Saint-Petersburg, Russia): “Italian cinema as a vector for studying the cultural memory of the Holocaust inItaly”
- Angelina Sudeikina, student at Saratov State Legal Academy (Saratov,Russia): “Russian Federation criminal liability for the distortion of theHolocaust history”
- Evgenii Vlasov, student at Kostroma State University (Kostroma,Russia): “Comprehension of the Holocaust by students: an experience of sociological research in the city ofKostroma”
Austrian Ambassador Claudia Reinprecht commented on her work with the Wiesenthal Centre for UNESCOaction against the Belgian Aalst antisemitic carnival float. “Austrians had lost neighbours, friends and colleagues to the Holocaust... ultimately a great loss for humanity. It is ever moreimportant to be vigilant against antisemitism.”
Italian Ambassador Massimo Riccardo spoke of an educational approach to counter antisemitism,using all cultural instruments made available by UNESCO.
Alexeiy Kovalenko, member of the Russian delegation, noted “the monument to Jewish resistance inthe camps and ghettos,” inaugurated on 4 June in Moscow by President Putin and how “the Russian Delegation will continue to be a torchbearer for this laureates programme, for the memory of thevictims and against the normalization of all forms of discrimination.”
Alla Gerber added, “we must focus not just on those who died, but against indifference to heroism in the face of evil, to neutralize the roots of hatred.”
German delegation member, Katharina Bonnenfant, described the student laureates as “torches in thedarkness.”
Stephane Teicher, representing B’nai B’rith International, called the Belgian Carnival float “anew tolerance for intolerance.”
Verbe et Lumière - Vigilance President, Richard Odier, concluded the meeting quoting Martin LutherKing Jr.: “hate needs to be fought in two ways, through Justice and with Empathy.” He added his satisfaction to hear Hebrew spoken in an institution from which Israel has departed. “I hope thatUNESCO will take the necessary measures for Israel to return.”
For further information, contact Shimon Samuels at +33 147 237 637, join theCenter on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agenciesincluding the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).
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