Sunday's Holocaust survivors urged the world not to forget the atrocities committed by the Nazis, a ceremony in 80 years since the liberation of the Ravensbruck concentration camp.
Nine men and women who survived the 1980s and 1990s, former prisoners and relatives of senior officials participated in the event in northern Germany.
Lili Keller Rosenberg, a Jewish French lady who was deported to the camp at the age of 11, told AFP that she believed her survival was “extraordinary” and “revenge of the Nazis.”
“We never thought we could last so long. I was destined to be deported in 1943,” the 93-year-old said. He spent more than a year in Ravensbrueck before being transferred to a concentration camp in Bergen-Belsen.
She said she was determined to continue narrating her experiences with young people to avoid repeating the past: “These young people have to fight racism, which is a scourge and fight anti-Semitism.”
About 130,000 people were sent from all over Europe to Ravensbrueck, the largest Nazi camp for women and children. A small nearby camp was also built for male prisoners.
In addition to Jews, those held in the camp also included political opponents, Romans and convicted criminals.
– “Leave a mark” –
There were between 20,000 and 30,000 deaths. Many people die from forced labor – prisoners must work 12 to 14 hours a day, as well as in gas chambers and in the last death parade.
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Ingelore Prochnow, a German survivor born in Ravensbrueck, told Sunday's ceremony that she had “no memories of fear, hunger or cold” at the camp.
“Nevertheless, I believe all of this has left a mark on my body and soul,” she said.
With the support of the far-right AFD, Germany is growing concerns about the future of the Holocaust memorial, which became the second-largest party in national polls in February.
Some politicians in the party – designated as extremist groups by Germany's domestic intelligence agencies last week – have opposed the country's memorial tradition.
In a ceremony held on Saturday to commemorate the liberation of Hamburg's Neuengamme concentration camp, Prime Minister Olaf Scholz warned: “Diligers, extremists and populists around the world, including our own country, all want to attack and destroy this peaceful and unified Europe.
“We can’t let that happen.”
Germany held several ceremonies this year to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi camps and to hold other major events at the end of World War II.
Al-SR/SBK
