Holocaust Memorial Day – Irish minister’s speech
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Alan Shatter, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, writes on the anniversary of Ireland’s 10th Holocaust Day.
Allied soldiers arrived at the gates of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp 67 years ago today, 27 January 1945. It had become the largest graveyard of the Jewish people in history.
An estimated 1.1 to 1.3 million people were exterminated there, 90 per cent of them Jewish men, women and children. Others exterminated included Roma families, people with disabilities, homosexuals, prisoners of conscience and religious faith.
Nothing could prepare the camps liberators for what they witnessed in Auschwitz.
The remnants of the gas chambers and the crematoria; the mounds of bodies; the stench of death; the piles of clothes; of teeth; of childrens’ shoes and barely living skeletal survivors; the speaking bones who greeted their arrival. By the war’s end, it was estimated that 6 million Jews had been exterminated by the Nazi killing machine in pursuit of the objective of a Judenfrei world. If Hitler had achieved his objectives no Jewish community in Europe would have been exempt from the Nazi slaughter, not even those resident in neutral Ireland.
In Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, a map of Europe prepared by Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the extermination policy, includes the estimated 4,000 members of the then Irish Jewish community targeted for extermination. Clearly, had Germany succeeded in invading Britain, our proclaimed war time neutrality would have provided no protection for the small Irish Jewish community nor presented any real barrier to a German invasion.
It is of vital importance that we and future generations remember and learn from the horrors of the past to ensure they are not repeated in the future. In his book The Drowned and the Saved Primo Levi writes that “human memory is a marvellous but fallacious instrument. This is a threadbare truth, known not only to psychologists but also to anyone who has paid attention to the behaviour of those who surround him or even to his own behaviour. The memories which lie within us are not carved in stone; not only do they tend to become erased as the years go by, but often they change or even increase by incorporating extraneous features”.
Despite everything witnessed, the accounts of survivors and the voluminous records maintained by Germany itself of the Nazi killing machine and the many Holocaust memorials and museums worldwide, there are now too many in Europe who know very little of the horrors perpetrated in the second quarter of the last century and far too many in the State of Israel’s neighbours in the volatile Middle East engaged in Holocaust denial. Again in the words of Primo Levi, “the further events fade into the past, the more the construction of convenient truth grows and is perfected.”
These acts of evil emerged in one of the more modern and sophisticated societies of the era
As the years pass by and the remaining survivors of the Nazi horror who can tell the story first-hand reduce in number, it becomes more important than ever that we keep alive the shocking memory of the Holocaust. It is crucial that we never forget what happened or diminish the scale of the horror that was perpetrated by the Nazi regime.
It is difficult to comprehend how a society could have allowed such unimaginable atrocities to occur. We must remember that the Holocaust did not occur in a vacuum. These acts of evil emerged in one of the more modern and sophisticated societies of the era.
Tools and advances made toward human progress were used for human destruction. Scientific and medical advances designed to heal and save lives were used to kill. Education which should enlighten was used to justify grotesquely immoral actions. People made choices. Some chose to be involved in some way in the destruction, others chose to do and say nothing, while some chose to resist the evil and do the right thing to support, protect and save the persecuted.
An inconvenient truth is that those who chose to do and say nothing during this unprecedented period in European history include this State. In the period following Hitler coming to power and preceding the Second World War, the doors of this State were kept firmly closed to German Jewish families trying to flee from persecution and death. The advice of the anti-Semitic then-Irish Ambassador in Berlin, Charles Bewley, that Ireland should be protected from the contamination that would result from granting residential visas to Jewish refugees resulted in practically all visa requests being refused.
In the context of the Holocaust, Irish neutrality was a principle of moral bankruptcy
This position was maintained from 1939 to 1945 and we should no longer be in denial that, in the context of the Holocaust, Irish neutrality was a principle of moral bankruptcy. This moral bankruptcy was compounded by the then Irish Government who, after the war, only allowed an indefensibly small number who survived the concentration camps to settle permanently in Ireland whilst refusing entry and permanent residence to many more and also by the visit of President De Valera to then German Ambassador Edouard Hemple in 1945 to express his condolences on the death of Hitler. At a time when neutrality should have ceased to be an issue, the Government of this State utterly lost its moral compass.
So, in understanding the Holocaust and maintaining its memory, in ensuring that the conditions which allow such evil to flourish to such devastating consequences can never again prevail, we should not forget or ignore the failures of this State and this State’s responsibility for such failures.
John Bruton, as Taoiseach, in the Spring of 1995, acknowledged our State’s failures and honoured the memory of those millions of European Jews who died in the Holocaust. When doing so, he acknowledged that the Holocaust “was not the product of an alien culture. It happened in Europe in living memory. It was a product of intolerance, bigotry and a distorted concept of nationalism.”
In the midst of the ongoing fiscal and banking crisis that currently impacts on the nations of Europe, including our State, we should never lose sight of the extraordinary contribution of the European Union in providing the political architecture for peace and stability in Europe. As
Europeans we must all ensure that in addressing vital issues of immediate concern that affect the lives of tens of millions, it is the European ideals of peace, cooperation and solidarity and not extreme nationalism nor narrow domestic political concerns which motivate our actions.
It is appropriate that we revisit the morality of the conduct of our State during the 1930s and ’40s, whilst of course being conscious of the fact that only a short time earlier, we had regained our independence from Britain and there was an understandable concern by Government to ensure, insofar as possible, political stability on this island at a time of global conflict.
No-one should assume that what happened in the past cannot be repeated in the future
However, there were questionable things both done and not done and we should not be in denial nor should we ignore that the conduct of our State, at that time, in the eyes of some, delimits Ireland’s moral authority and credibility when today we seek to lecture later generations of those whose families survived the Holocaust on the conduct of their affairs in Israel, without regard to the extent to which they believe themselves under existential threat.
No-one should assume that what happened in the past cannot be repeated in the future. The truth is we should pay greater attention to the dead.
We must never forget the lessons of the past when we make, or urge others to make, decisions which impact on the future. We should never ignore the extent to which their past impacts on their perception of the present and fuels their fears of the future or causes them to question the judgement of others.
I am pleased that Ireland became a full member of the International Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research in December 2011. This Task Force is a voice of moral authority on the international stage in raising awareness about the Holocaust and can help address the dynamics that we know precede mass killings and genocide.
Ireland’s 10th National Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, organised by the Holocaust Education Trust Ireland, will take place this coming Sunday, January 29. This commemoration event, which is now firmly established in the Irish national calendar, has been supported by my Department since 2003 and I am very pleased to be in a position to continue that support.
For well over a decade, we have commemorated and paid tribute to the estimated 10,000 Irish people who died in British uniforms during the Second World War. Many who fought in British uniforms during that War returned to Ireland. For too many years, their contribution in preserving European and Irish democracy was ignored. Some of those include members of our Defence Forces who left this island during that time to fight for freedom and who were subsequently dishonourably discharged from the Defence Forces.
I believe it is also appropriate that we revisit the manner in which they were treated whilst also remembering that those who served in our Defence Forces throughout that time performed a crucial national duty. It is untenable that we commemorate those who died whilst continuing to ignore the manner in which our State treated the living, in the period immediately after World War II, who returned to our State having fought for freedom and democracy. This is an issue to which I hope to return in my role as Minister for Defence later this year
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The Hudson Taylor Tourist Trail?
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Missionary trail may bring Chinese tourism boom to Barnsley
Barnsley is hoping that a heritage trail for James Hudson Taylor will bring in huge numbers of Chinese tourists. The Mirror reports that the 19th century missionary, who was born in Barnsley, is ‘hailed as spiritual leader by more than 70 million Christians in the Far East‘.
Read more: The Mirror, 14/1
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Jefferson’s “Abridged” version
 Cover of The Jefferson Bible |
Thomas Jefferson’s ‘cut-down’ Bible reissued
The third US president compiled his own version of the Gospels by literally cutting out the parts with which he did not agree. Jefferson used a razor to remove passages describing, among other things, the virgin birth, resurrection and ascension of Jesus – preferring to emphasise his moral teachings. A new edition of ‘The Jefferson Bible‘ has been published this month.
Read more: The Guardian, 17/1
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Irish peace group in Haiti
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A group of Irish peacemakers from Glencree Centre has helped resolve gang warfare in disaster-hit Haiti.
The Belfast Telegraph reports: Members of Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation travelled to the Caribbean nation, parts of which were destroyed in the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Former UVF paramilitary Martin Snodden was among those who encouraged gang lords in one of the country’s poorest and most dangerous slums to decommission their weapons.
Irish charity Concern invited them to work with Haitian peace-building group 3PSM in St Martin, where 70,000 people live in severe poverty and children as young as 11 are initiated into gangs.
They used the Northern Ireland peace process as an example of how conflicting communities can live without violence.
Glencree international programme director Ian White, who first visited Haiti in 2004 and has returned numerous times, said methods for achieving peace are the same the world over.
“For a peace process to work you don’t have to trust each other, you just have to trust in the process,” said Mr White.
“We wanted to open up dialogue between these people who hate each other.”
As the annual Haiti Week in Ireland begins tomorrow, when organisations try to raise awareness of the poverty-stricken country, Mr White said people should put themselves in the shoes of those living out there.
He said he understood why members of the community were forced to join gangs.
Nun who hid Jews from Nazis on track for sainthood
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The Vatican has taken up the Cause of Mother Riccarda Beauchamp Hambrough, a British nun who saved the lives of about 60 Jews during the Second World War by hiding them in her Rome convent.
Historians and theologians at the Vatican will now study a file on Mother Riccarda to consider whether she lived a life of ‘heroic virtue‘, and progress her Cause for sainthood.
Read more: Catholic Herald, 17/1
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Cartoon row prompts UCL atheist society president to resign
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Controversy was sparked last week when an atheist society at University College London posted an image of ‘Jesus and Mo‘ (Muhammad) on their Facebook page.
After the UCL union asked the group to remove the picture, petitions and counter-petitions were started.
Now, the president of said atheist society has stepped down, citing the stress of being involved in the controversy.
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Row over Indonesia atheist Facebook post
An Indonesian man who said that God did not exist in a posting on a Facebook page for atheists could face jail.
Civil servant Alexander Aan, 31, is now in protective police custody after he was attacked by an angry mob.
He may also lose his job over his posting on the social networking site.
Atheism is a violation of Indonesian law under the founding principles of the country and carries a jail sentence of up to five years.
Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim nation – recognises the right to practice five other religions aside from Islam, says the BBC’s Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta.
Local media said a mob attacked Mr Aan when he arrived for work at a government office on Wednesday.
Police said that according to Indonesian criminal law, anyone who tried to stop others believing in a faith could face up to five years in prison
The Facebook page where he made his comments remains up and supporters have condemned police action against Mr An, calling for him to be released.
Bible 2011 bestseller in Norway
The first Norwegian translation of the Bible for 30 years has become the surprising bestseller of 2011. People across Norway queued in the streets overnight to get their hands on it and bookshops sold out within hours of its launch. The new edition has topped the book charts there nearly every week.
Stine Smemo Strachan, from the Norwegian Bible Society, said: ‘We only printed 25,000 to start but by the end of the year it had sold 79,000 copies – it’s just incredible’.
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Almost a quarter of all Christians are sub-Saharan Africans
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There are 516.5 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, a rise of nine million from a century earlier.
This represents 23.6 per cent of Christendom. The results, published by Pew Forum, show that Nigeria has the greatest number, with over 80 million Christians, followed by DRC and Ethiopia. The United States has the highest number of Christians (247 million) followed by Brazil (176 million).
The world total stands at around 2.2 billion. (Read More, The Africa Report, 3/1)
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Peace Award for Mary McAleese
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FORMER PRESIDENT OF Ireland, Mary McAleese, and her husband Senator Martin McAleese have been announced as the joint recipients of the 2011 Tipperary International Peace Award.
Also nominated for the award this year were former US President Jimmy Carter, Queen Nour Al Hussein of Jordan, Dr Abdul Sattar Edhi, a Pakistani phanthropist; Zimbabwean farmer Mike Campbell (posthumously), his wife Angela Campbell, daughter Laura Freeth and her husband Ben Freeth; and former Chief of Protocol of the United States, Ambassador Nancy G Brinker.
In a statement issued today, World Day of Peace, Tipperary Peace Convention said that they are “delighted to recognise the efforts of Mary and Martin McAleese in the promotion of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland and with our neighbouring island”.The theme of Mary McAleese’s Presidency was ‘Building Bridges’ and for many people, the highlight of her two terms as President was the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland in March 2011, which undoubtedly was the culmination of President McAleese’s long and dedicated work for reconciliation.
Along with her work for reconciliation she also used her time in office to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion and anti-sectarianism and her Presidency has been a healing one for which this and future generations will be eternally grateful.
The organisation said that Mary McAleese was assisted every step of the way in the work of promoting peace and reconciliation by her husband, Martin, who initiated meetings with senior loyalist paramilitary leaders to pursue peace negotiations.
These actions have been widely viewed as instrumental in bringing loyalist paramilitary groups to peace talks. The valuable work that he did in reaching out to people in the loyalist community enabled the development of a shared Ireland beyond violence and conflict.
The Award will be presented in Tipperary at a date to be announced in 2012.
Previous recipients of the Tipperary International Peace Award include former South African President Nelson Mandela, Live Aid Organiser Bob Geldof, former US President Bill Clinton, former Prime Minister of Lebanon the late Rafic Hariri, Afghan Human Rights Activist Dr Sima Samar, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and her brother the late Ted Kennedy.
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