Holocaust museum a place of ‘deep shame’ for every German

JERUSALEM’S new Holocaust museum is a place of deep shame for all Germans, because the nation will remain forever linked to the Nazi genocide of six million Jews, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said yesterday.

Mr Fischer, and 40 other world leaders, attended a second day of ceremonies and educational conferences to mark the opening of the €38 million museum, which tells the story of the Holocaust from the victims’ viewpoint through personal testimonies and artefacts.

Speakers, including those from Israel, said there was a rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, and promised to battle racism.

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said he would try to preserve the memory of the Polish Jewish community that was nearly obliterated by the Nazis, and French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said his government would stand strong against anti-Semitism.

Mr Fischer, a frequent visitor to Israel, said the Holocaust museum “is a place of deep shame for any German because the name of my country, Germany, is and will forever be inseparably linked to the Shoah, the ultimate crime against humanity”. “The Shoah ... will forever remain an indelible part of German history,” he said, using the Hebrew name for the Holocaust. The Polish president said he’d lead a battle against the type of racism that led to the Holocaust.