Young Belgians visit Auschwitz

26 January 2005
 
BRUSSELS – Sixty young Belgians have visited to the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland to mark the sixtieth anniversary of its liberation.
 
The young people were invited by Defence Minister Andre Flahaut, and accompanied by their teachers, Auschwitz survivors, war veterans and politicians.
 
Defence ministry spokesman Gerard Harveng said the visit was part of an effort to keep alive the memory of those who suffered in the notorious Nazi concentration camp.
 
The goal was to put the young people in contact with the survivors,” said Harveng.
 
“The tragic irony during this time of commemoration is that extreme right parties are emerging again across Europe, as if the history of sixty years ago is just preaching in the desert,” the defence minister told the group.
 
“We will forever remember this place where humanity broke down entirely and our emotions cannot help but be touched,” he added.
 
Flahaut said that he wanted the young people to see the evidence in the camp that survivors never lost hope in humanity, despite the depravity of their surroundings.
 
[Copyright Expatica 2005]

Subject: Belgian news