I think it took a lot of guts for Merkel to make that declaration in the face of rising German nationalism and an outburst of anti-Semitism.
GERMANY’S MERKEL: FOREVER RESPONSIBLE FOR NAZI CRIMES
Israel Today
January 27, 2013
Speaking a day before International Holocaust Memorial Day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday insisted that her nation's responsibility for the crimes of the Nazis is "everlasting."
In a video message marking the 80th anniversary of Hitler's rise to power, Merkel stated that Germany has an "everlasting responsibility for the crimes of National Socialism, for the victims of World War II and, above all, for the Holocaust. And this must be made clear from generation to generation and it must be said with bravery and moral courage, every individual can make a contribution so that racism and anti-Semitism have no chance."
On Sunday, Israel and various other nations, including Germany, stopped to remember the more than six million Jews exterminated in the Nazi Holocaust. International Holocaust Memorial Day was commemorated in Israel at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem.
Israel is home to nearly 200,000 Holocaust survivors, though that number is dwindling quickly. Sadly, many of these victims are living our their last days in poverty, and far too many have little or no family left to help them.
Many of Israel's Holocaust survivors have come to rely on the generosity and aid of Jews and Christians who both love Israel and are determined that these poor souls who experienced the very depths of human depravity are able to live our their remaining days in dignity.
3 comments:
I respectfully disagree with Angela. I would be happy to let them have back their collective self-respect in another 30 or 40 years, once the atrocity of National Socialism passes out of living memory.
Once the atrocity of National Socialism passes out of living memory, it is more likely to be repeated.
You may very well be right and I may very well be wrong. I would hope that civilized societies in general would have learned from the errors of the past, but that could be wishful thinking. After all, at one time Persia was a civilized nation by most standards.
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