Remembering the Past; Shaping the Future
Special assembly of world leaders calls for safeguarding Holocaust remembrance and action against antisemitism

Following a memorial service on 16 March in the Museum’s new Hall of Names (see cover), a special assembly, “Remembering the Past, Shaping the Future,” featured remarks from the heads of some 40 delegations, Israeli leaders and a number of leading Israeli intellectuals. Together, they raised their voices to the world in a call for safeguarding the memory and meaning of the Shoah for future generations, and for a rise to action against renewed antisemitism and intolerance.

At the assembly, President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski declared: “We Poles are especially concerned that the memory of our Jewish brethren not perish in the ashes of the Nazi death camps… Yad Vashem obliges all of us to put human rights in the forefront of the actions of states and nations. To respect human dignity, freedom of religion and the right of everyone to cultivate the traditions precious to them.”

“Yad Vashem is a place of deep shame for any German, because Germany is and will forever be inseparably lined to the Shoah, the ultimate crime against humanity,” said Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany, Joschka Fischer. “All those murdered—the men women and children—and their individual stories are the focal point of the new museum at Yad Vashem. I am deeply moved by the testimonies and artifacts that bear witness to the fates of the victims.” President of Croatia Stjepan Mesić discussed how the museum differs from “the standard understanding of a museum…Terrible and distressing, the Holocaust History Museum must be visited. Its exhibits must be seen, in order not to forget. Because if we are sure this will not be forgotten, we can hope it will never again be repeated… On this very spot, I would like to repeat that I will continue to fight for truth about the past, and stand against all attempts to suppress, conceal or fabricate history, whatever it may have been.”

“The obligation of memory is not just a word, or a duty to be fulfilled through official ceremonies alone,” said Prime Minister of France Jean-Pierre Raffarin. “Like everyone who visited the new museum yesterday, I felt that the tragedy of the Shoah is not just history… The dead are speaking to us: the attention we pay them will affect an essential part of our future.” Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Igor Ivanov sent greetings from President Vladmir Putin: “In our country we feel deep respect and gratitude for those who have devoted their lives to the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust… All of civilized mankind must know about the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust so that it will never happen again. Antisemitism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and chauvinism must be eradicated from our lives.”

For more speeches from the assembly, please visit the Yad Vashem website, www.yadvashem.org.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom MK addressing the special assembly.


Minister for Diaspora and Jerusalem Affairs Natan Sharansky MK addressing the special assembly.

On 16 March, President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski met with members of the National Council of Students at the International School for Holocaust Studies. Participating in the event, which was hosted by the School, and organized by the Ministry of Education’s Society and Youth Administration Department, were the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport Limor Livnat MK, the Polish Minister of Education, the Israeli Ambassador to Poland, the Polish Ambassador to Israel, and others. The President spoke to the students—who had participated in the trips to Poland with their schools—and answered their questions.