Kaddish in the Reichstag


Many tears flowed Commemoration ceremony for the Victims of National Socialism on January 27, 2022, at the German Reichstag. How could it be otherwise? Inge Auerbacher, 87, who had survived Theresienstadt with her parents, told how she was torn from her happy childhood in a small Swabian town. Twenty relatives were murdered and many of the families who were with her in Theresienstadt were also sent to Auschwitz to certain death. That she, of all people, remained alive is like a miracle. For four years, even after the family emigrated to the United States, she struggled to live, having contracted tuberculosis from the terrible conditions, malnutrition, confinement, and filth in Theresienstadt. Only the invention of streptomycin saved her life.

She summarized what she had experienced at the end of her speech as follows:

"Summa summarum.
As far as I know, I am the only child among all the deportees from Stuttgart who returned .
20 people from our family were murdered by the Nazis.
3 years in Theresienstadt concentration camp.
4 years in bed because of severe health consequences.
8 years of lost schooling.
4 years of stigmatization of wearing the Jewish star.
Stigma because of the nasty disease that prevented partners from marrying me.
I was never able to wear a wedding dress.
I will never become a mom or a grandma.
But I am happy and the children of the world are mine.
I close with my heart's desire: hating people is a terrible thing. We are all born as brothers and sisters. My dearest wish is the reconciliation of all people. Light a candle today in memory of the murdered innocent children, women, and men.
Light a candle for life, and hold back the darkness.
Be guardians of your sisters and brothers, and your happiness will always bloom.
We are all born as children of God.
For unity and peace open the gates.
The past must never be forgotten.
Together let us pray for unity on earth.
Let us see a new tomorrow together.
Let this dream never be lost."

Even though Inge Auerbacher was supported by the Federal President and Chancellor as she walked, she came across as a strong woman, speaking with a clear voice and in perfect German as if she had never left Germany. Her message deserves to be remembered. There were not only tears but also many hugs. It is rare to experience so many emotions in a sober, German Bundestag. Maybe once a year on such a memorial day.

Israel's parliamentary president Mickey Levy said in his speech, held in Hebrew, that each generation must take on anew the difficult task of preserving the memory of the Shoah. This memory connects Israelis and Germans. Both nations have managed to overcome the historical trauma. It is also necessary to create a vision from the memory: "A future based on the values of democracy, freedom, and tolerance. Values that Israel and Germany share."

Finally, Levy showed the prayer book of a German-Jewish boy that he had brought from the Jerusalem Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem. The boy had celebrated his bar mitzvah on Oct. 22, 1938, "just before the life he should have lived shattered against the reality prevailing in Germany." Levy was visibly moved as he told this story, and at the end of his address asked those present to stand for prayer. While saying the Kaddish, his voice faltered and tears streamed down his cheeks. Overcome by emotion, he hid his face in his hands.

#We remember. Never again. Do not forget. Reconciliation. Germany has understood that we must not forget. And yet there is so much anti-Semitism again, not only in our country. We can be glad that those in power are trying to counteract it. But it is up to all of us to do our part to ensure that discrimination and persecution of people due to their ancestry, religion, race, or sexual orientation never happens again.

Holocaust survivor Max Mannheimer said, "You are not responsible for what happened. But you are responsible that it never happens again." Let us take this responsibility seriously. Let us light the candle and let it burn in our hearts forever.


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