Klieger: I dreamed of a Jewish state while in Auschwitz
In a ceremony commemorating the memory of the Holocaust, Yedioth Ahronoth contributor and Auschwitz survivor Noah Kleiger told his story at the UN General Assembly; others who spoke were Israeli Ambassador Danon, UN Secretary General Guterres
Kleiger took to the lectern of the UN plenium, saying “when I was in Auschwitz, I had three dreams; to survive this hell, to tell as many people as possible what the Nazis did to the Jews, and to help Jews settle the land from which they were expelled. My dreams came true, and Israel – the historic homeland of the Jewish nation – was resurrected.”
He continued, saying “in a few years, there won’t be any survivors who will be able to tell about this genocide which was the worst ever in human history. Who will tell our stories once we’re gone? Now is the time for the UN to take the additional step to adopt a resolution which encourages teaching the younger generations about this terrible time in the history of humanity to keep it from happening again.”
“The Holocaust was the apex of what we today term anti-Semitism,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said during his speech.
“Anti-Semitism is always prone to return, and ladies and gentlemen, it has returned. Jews are now facing a lose-lose situation. Anti-Semitism is alive and kicking. We still see the effects of the Holocaust, the attempt to re-write history,” he continued.
He then added “hatred that begins with Jews never ends with Jews. We need to invest in education, we need to do more to protect human rights. I will be on the front-lines in the fight against anti-Semitism. The best way to respect the victims of the Holocaust is to fight anti-Semitism, and make sure that the victims are never forgotten.”
“It will be a dangerous mistake to think that the Holocaust is the result of the insanity of a group of Nazi criminals. opposite is true. The Holocaust was the pinnacle creation of a thousand years of hatred and discrimination against Jews. History continues to move forward, but anti-Semitism continues to move backwards. There is a new trend for people to re-write the history of the Holocaust,” Guterres continued.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon followed, saying “we remember our history, painful as it may be, so that we can learn from it and not allow it to ever be repeated. We remember the victims of the Nazis and the bravery of the survivors, those same men and women who are now slipping away from us. We implore the future generations to learn the lessons from this darkest of times with two simple words; never forget.”
Danon mentioned Kleiger in his speech, saying “Noah Kleiger has devoted his life to warning humanity about evil. He’s a hero in so many ways – he not only survived Auschwitz , but also moved to Israel and fought for the independence of the Jewish state. He is fighting to this very day. His willingness to spread the truth is inspiration to us all, and his presence here reminds us never to allow the Holocaust to be forgotten or ignored.”
