Ladies and gentlemen, Colleagues and Friends,
"They tried to break our will and our pride by inventing more and more humiliating techniques, even forcing us to clean the ground while naked. But they did not succeed to take away our pride. We resisted.
But in depriving us of our food, they succeeded in taking away our dignity, degrading us as human beings, to the level of an animal. All we could think of then was FOOD and how we could find something to eat."
These are the words of Madeleine Weis, a Luxembourger, who wrote down her memories for her grandchildren of what she experienced during World War II.
It is one of many testimonies, but one which has marked me profoundly.
69 years and 2 days ago, the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp put an end to the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime.
Today, 69 years later, it is our solemn duty to show that our standards and values are non-negotiable and unquestionable.
As we pay tribute to all the victims of the Holocaust, this ceremony reminds us that we must continue our fight against anti-Semitism, as well as other forms of hatred and intolerance. Indeed, far from being eradicated, it has been on the increase on the European continent in recent years. It has become relatively trivialised and is present to varying degrees in all the member States of the Council of Europe: desecrations, vandalism, publications, insults, threats, physical attacks and even murders. Its resurgence should be a wake-up call to these States to step up vigilance and tackle the threats that anti-Semitism poses to the fundamental values that the Council of Europe is tasked with upholding.
Maintaining the duty of memory to ensure that those things do not happen again, but also combating anti-Semitism and all other forms of hatred and intolerance – that is our role.
For over six decades now, the Council of Europe, a symbol of European diversity, a coming-together of political ideas and cultures and languages, has been striving to defend democracy, human rights and the rule of law, championing these three pillars as the foundation stones of peace and stability.
Together with other Council of Europe bodies, the Assembly is doing a lot to eradicate intolerance and discrimination. Yet, it is not enough and I would like to assure you that this this topic will always remain high on our agenda. You can count on us!
Dear colleagues and friends,
As we were coming to this Ceremony, some of you may have passed by the exhibition of photographs on the ground floor, which is organised by the Permanent Representation of Luxemburg. The title of this exhibition is "Auschwitz… Que faire après?". This is a remainder for all of us that our fight against intolerance and its worst manifestations is always "work in progress". So, let us join forces in this combat, I am confident that together we will succeed.
Thank you for your attention.