UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the ceremony which was held in remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust at the New York headquarters of the global organisation on Wednesday. Szabolcs Takács, State Secretary for European Affairs highlighted the Hungarian Government’s commitment to the fight against anti-Semitism.
Mr Takács pointed out in his speech that Hungary is fully committed to the fight against anti-Semitism, and takes a zero tolerance stance against anti-Semitic manifestations. The State Secretary responsible for EU affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office called upon his audience to remember the tragedy which occurred seventy years ago, and cited images of moments of humiliation and depravation. „The Holocaust was not the first genocide. And neither was it the last. But it was unprecedented, not only in the sheer magnitude of the number of civilians killed, but also in terms of its nature and intentions. It was the depravation of civilisation on such a scale that humanity was simply compelled to act and to react”, the State Secretary said, mentioning, as examples of the actions taken, the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the establishment of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
„The establishment of this alliance is a clear signal to the world that remembering those who were killed is not only the responsibility of Jewish communities, but also that of governments and the whole world”, the politician pointed out. Referring to the six hundred thousand Hungarian victims of the Holocaust, he also highlighted: in the eyes of the Hungarian Government, the Hungarian nation died six hundred thousand times during the Holocaust, and each and every Hungarian who killed or collaborated committed an act of treason against the Hungarian nation. In his speech, the State Secretary further pointed out that the intensifying anti-Semitism which has emerged in Europe in recent years is a direct threat to democracy, „the fundamental values of our civilisation and the general security of our societies”.
After Mr Takács’s speech, the audience listened to a song performed by Roma guitarist Antal Kopár. At the memorial ceremony, speeches were delivered, among others, by US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, the Ambassador of the State of Israel to the UN, and the representative of the German Government responsible for relations with Jewish organisations. The invited guests paid tribute to Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued Jews during World War II, with a video compilation.
As the Wednesday evening programme of the official remembrance day, a concert will be given at the Hungarian Mission to the UN in memory of Hungarian composers killed during the Holocaust. The concert organised under the auspices of the Academy of Music will feature Vilmos Szabad, Eszter Karasszon and Mariann Marczi. The performance will, as expected, also be attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The remembrance event will additionally be attended by members of the New York group of Hungarian children hidden during the Holocaust.
(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)
