From 1942 to 1944, when Belgium was occupied by Nazi Germany, 25,274 Jews and 354 Rom and Sinti gypsies were deported on 28 transports from the transit camp in Mechelen, north of Brussels, to Auschwitz-Birkenau, te largest concentration and extermination, camp built by the Nazis, in southern Poland. Only 1,219 Jews and 33 Roma and Sinti survived, less than 5% of the deportees.The youngest of these victims was one month old.
Jan Jambon pledged that as the present Prime Minister of Flanders, ‘’I will do everything in my power to ensure that our Jewish fellow citizens feel safe and at home with us. That they can freely exercise their religion. That they can be free from anti-Semitism, hatred and violence.’’
KRAKOW—In a significant statement, the head of the Flanders government, Jan Jambon, has acknowledged the ‘’shameful’’ role of the Belgian and Flemish authorities in the deportation of the more than 25,000 Jews to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
He made the statement in a keynote address at an event in Krakow, Poland, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp where more than 1,1 million Jews as well as Roma and gypsies were murdered by the Nazis during WWII.
‘‘What happened during the Second World War must never be forgotten. Nor should we forget our own role. The Belgian and Flemish authorities willingly cooperated in the deportation and murder of their own citizens. That is a shameful stain on our history, a history that we have to face up,’’ said Jambon, who visited Tuesday the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, laid a wreath at the execution wall and participated in a memorial service.
From 1942 to 1944, when Belgium was occupied by Nazi Germany, 25,274 Jews and 354 Rom and Sinti gypsies were deported on 28 transports from the transit camp in Mechelen, north of Brussels, to Auschwitz-Birkenau, te largest concentration and extermination, camp built by the Nazis, in southern Poland. Only 1,219 Jews and 33 Roma and Sinti survived, less than 5% of the deportees.
The youngest of these victims was one month old.
‘’We live in a time when slogans that I hoped we would never hear again suddenly resound in our streets,’’ said the Flemish Minister-President as he stressed that antisemitism and other forms of hatred are once more being preached in Europe.’’ ‘’In our cities people are even murdered again for not belonging to the right religion,’’ Jambon continued, referring to the murder of four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.
Jambon pledged that as the present Prime Minister of Flanders, ‘’I will do everything in my power to ensure that our Jewish fellow citizens feel safe and at home with us. That they can freely exercise their religion. That they can be free from anti-Semitism, hatred and violence.’’
Picture by Yoni Rykner
In Krakow and Auschwitz-Bikenau, Jambon has joined other ministers and 100 parliamentarians from across Europe who gathered at the initiative of the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the Action and Protection League (APL). The personalities – including also the Justice Minister of Hungary, the First Vice-President of the European Parliament, the former president of the European Parliament, the president of the Austrian parliament were all urged to concretely tighten and toughen antisemitism laws in their countries through direct legislation in the areas of stereotyping, education and the sale of Nazi memorabilia.
The Krakow gathering address the need for increased Holocaust education in Europe as a top priority.
The Head of the EJA, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, said the best way to honour those who died during the Holocaust was not by remembrance alone but by positive and decisive action in stamping out Antisemitism:
“In the days leading to the anniversary there will be many speeches, and people will say never again. But we need much more than this. We believe that the ongoing fight against antisemitism will define the kind of Europe that we all want to live in. Jews cannot be armchair generals in this battle. We must take the lead, and lead by example,” he said.
He stressed that ‘’time has come for action. Jewish communities, politicians, and civilians who hold the fate of our shared values dear must come together to ensure we are taking concrete steps to uproot the oldest type of racial hatred.”
Rabbi Shlomo Koves of the Action and Protection League remarked that the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz ‘’is probably going to be the last one when we still have the survivors present who remember the horrors of the Holocaust.’’
He added: ‘’Jewish communities, politicians, and civilians who hold the fate of our shared values dear must come together to ensure we are taking concrete steps to uproot the oldest type of racial hatred.”