Macron Pays Homage to Nazi Hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld in Berlin
President Macron remembered the time when Beate Klarsfeld slapped Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger for his involvement in Nazism. According to him, "this slap struck a face but also a conscience, causing a shiver to run through an order built on forgetting and impunity." Macron both praised and admired her, saying she became a true hero of truth. In court, she was given a one-year sentence, but didn't serve it because of her dual citizenship.
President Macron acknowledged their determination in bringing Nazis and their accomplices to justice, declaring their endeavors "irrefutable and scientifically proven." They helped expose "the French government's involvement in the capture of Jews without nationality." He strongly asserted that French authorities didn't help at all in safeguarding Jews.
Jacques Chirac, former president of France, publicly acknowledged France's responsibility in the deportation of Jews in 1995 for the first time, primarily owing to the Klarsfelds' efforts.
The Klarsfelds received prestigious awards from Macron at the French Embassy in Berlin. Serge Klarsfeld was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, while his spouse Beate was given Officer's Rank.
Prior to Macron and the other president's visit to the Holocaust Memorial, Serge shared the story of his family's connection to the event. His father was arrested by German troops in Nice, hiding with his mom and sister in a cabinet behind a false wall. HIs wife's uncle was also in action in Nice.
During the presidents' visit to the Holocaust Memorial, the German-French Youth Work unveiled a new interactive map detailing 63 significant locations of German-French history. Notable locations on the map included the Verdun battlefield during WWI, the site of the largest SS massacre in France, Oradour-sur-Glane, and the Fessenheim nuclear power plant. A notable the German-French youth witness fewer and fewer WWII victims and people who experienced the Holocaust, but the memory continues.
Tobias Bütow, co-chairman of the German-French Youth Work, noted, "we no longer have the ability to interview as many witnesses of World War II or the Holocaust," but that memory is still vibrant and dynamic.
Macron and the other president then went to Dresden, where Macron planned to deliver a speech aimed at German youth.
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- Beate Klarsfeld, a woman known for her bold actions, slapped former Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger due to his Nazi past.
- Emmanuel Macron praised Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, acknowledging their role as Nazi hunters and heroes of truth.
- The French government's complicity in the capture of Jews without nationality was brought to light, thanks to the Klarsfelds' efforts.
- Jacques Chirac, a former president of France, publicly acknowledged France's responsibility in the deportation of Jews, influenced by the Klarsfelds' work.
- Serge Klarsfeld, a prominent Nazi hunter, shared his family's harrowing story during the presidents' visit to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.
- Macron awarded Serge Klarsfeld with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and his spouse Beate with Officer's Rank at the French Embassy in Berlin.
- German-French youth are running out of World War II witnesses and Holocaust survivors, but the memory remains vivid and transformative, as shown by the interactive map presented during the presidents' visit.
- Tobias Bütow, co-chairman of the German-French Youth Work, emphasized that while there are fewer witnesses, the memory of World War II and the Holocaust continues to be vibrant and evolving.
Source: www.stern.de
