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| You are here: 2000 / Opening Session: Messages and speeches / Opening Address by the Prime Minister of Sweden, Göran Persson | |||||||||
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Opening Address by the Prime Minister of Sweden, Göran Persson Persson, Göran Opening address by the Prime Minister of Sweden at the Ceremonial Opening Words of ignorance; * * *
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
For this special occasion, I have brought along two stones. You won't be able to see them very clearly, but let me describe them. The first is a smooth, polished stone from the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Engraved on it, one word: remember. It is a reminder, but also an exhortation. Try to see. Try to understand. Don't forget. Remember, because to forget would be to betray those who died and those who survived. It would be to betray the deeds of Raoul Wallenberg and all the others who risked their own lives to save the lives of others. It would be a deadly betrayal of the generations to come. The second stone is rough and sharp. It bears no inscription. It could be any old stone, but it isn't. A friend of mine picked it up near some rusty rail tracks outside the small town of Izbica in south-east Poland. If this stone could talk it would tell of the thousands and thousands of people, trapped in cattle cars, who once rolled over it. It would tell of the transit camp a stone's throw away – an enclosed nothingness, a death's waiting room for those whose final destination was Sobibor or Belzec. It would tell the story of Izbica and how nine-tenths of its inhabitants were murdered merely because they were Jews. But stones can't talk. They can only talk to us if we know. They can only talk to us if we are prepared to listen. Confronted with the unspeakable horrors and the grim dilemmas of the Holocaust, we can always turn our back. We can literally throw the stone away. We can always choose the easy way. But my point is this: in a moral sense, we don't have that choice. The Holocaust was no accident of history. The systematic murder of the Jews did not happen by chance. Nor the genocide of the Roma. Nor the mass murder of disabled persons and the persecution and murder of homosexuals and dissidents. It occurred because people willed it, planned it and carried it through. It occurred because people made choices which allowed it to happen. It occured, not least, because people remained silent. It happened once. It should not have happened, but it did. It must not happen again, but it could. That's why education about the Holocaust is fundamental. * * *
Have you seen the Neo-Nazis marching, the symbols of hatred on jackets and walls? Have you realised what evil view of humanity guides some of the new political parties now gaining ground? Have you noticed how the Holocaust deniers are spreading their lies? I know you have. The risk we face is that anti-democratic forces continue to gain support. The danger lies in our failure to learn from history, in our failure to see the connections. That was my starting point in the summer of 1997, when we took the initiative for the Swedish project now known as Living History. The idea was to spread knowledge about the Holocaust, but also to generate an active dialogue between the generations on democratic and humanistic values. Living History won massive support, and the response exceeded anything we could have dreamed of. The conclusion to be drawn is encouraging. People want to know, people want to discuss values and ideas, people want to learn from history. I'm sure this does not apply only to Sweden. The mission we share today is to give people all possible support in these endeavours. In Sweden, the Living History project was just the beginning. Now we must seek greater knowledge and understanding of our own history. Pieces of the puzzle have been contributed by historical research and various commissions. Today, we know that Swedish authorities failed in the performance of their duty during the Second World War. The Swedish Government deeply regrets that we have to make such an observation. The moral and political responsibility for what Swedish society did – or failed to do – during the war will always be with us. * * *
Honoured participants, History continues to be full of silent stones, of mute knowledge. We must not tire in our quest to try to make them talk to us. We must not turn a deaf ear to the story of Tana, or the stories told by those of you who survived. Learning the lessons of the past is a task without end. There will always be a new generation to win over to knowledge, democracy and human dignity. The question is no longer if. The question is how. Never before have so many political leaders and public representatives from so many countries gathered to highlight this question. Never before has the will to share responsibility been so great. Never before has there been such a common sense of purpose. It is the end of silence and the beginning of a new millennium. It is a great honour to introduce the Honorary Chairman of the Conference, Professor Elie Wiesel. Welcome, all of you. Welcome to Stockholm, and welcome to this conference. Thank you. >> Back to top |
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Introduction Opening Session: Messages and speeches
Workshops, Panels and Seminars Closing Session and Declaration Other Activities |
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| For information about this production and the Stockholm International Forum Conference Series please go to www.humanrights.gov.se or contact Information Rosenbad, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||