Im deutschen Bundestag sprach in einer Gedenkstunde der Holocaust Überlebende Saul Friedländer. In England sprach in der Westminster Kathedrale die Muna Lübberstedt Überlebende Mindu Hornick.
MIndu’s speech at Holocaust Memorial Day 27 ,January 2019.
This speech was made after a film of her life was shown :
You have just heard and seen about my experiences in the Ghetto, Auschwitz-Birkenau and slave labour camp in Germany.
I remember the bewilderment, I remember the anguish of my parting from my mother and my 2 little brothers.
It all happened so fast. The Ghetto, the deportation, the sealed cattle cars, the fiery altar upon which the history of my people and the future of mankind were meant to be sacrificed.
I remember asking myself can this be true, is this the 20th century or the middle ages? Who could anyone allow such crimes to be committed?
How could the world remain silent?
Families driven from the safety of their homes, families torn apart never to be united.
And I tell myself how naive I was that to think that the world did not know and remained silent.
I now tell myself I must keep the memories alive, that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.
Commemorations such as this mean a lot to me. I hope that together with other commemorative days such as this we will keep the memory alive.
I know that nothing will bring back my family or my home or the 6 million innocent victims.
It is also important for me that both children of the victims and those of the perpetrators know about the Holocaust and warn future generations so that we will never again see any suffer a similar fate.
We survivors know that hatred and prejudice have catastrophic consequences. We will go on reminding people in the hope that those that will hear us will take our message on board and say „stand up against prejudice and say never again“.
Thank you for being part of this memorial.