17 March 2009
Press release

Presidium of the International Auschwitz Committee met with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and the current President of the European Council Mirek Topolánek

Alongside a presidium meeting of the International Auschwitz Committee from 14 through 16 March 2009 in Prague, the members of the presidium also met with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and the current President of the European Council Mirek Topolánek on 16 March. President Noach Flug presented “The Survivors’ Bequest” to the prime minister which was passed by the presidents of the International Auschwitz Committee in Berlin on 26 January, and emphasized that: “This text is our signal to the international conference on the subject of the Holocaust scheduled for June by the Czech European Council Presidency. We indeed welcome this conference and are grateful that, from the very beginning, the Czech government has supported the participation of survivors of the German concentration camps in the preparation and realization of the conference.”

The prime minister thanked the members of the presidium for their engagement and referred to the increase in right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and ant-Zionism in many European societies, saying that he expects stronger mutual efforts against these threats to democracy from his European partners.

In further talks with the President of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miloslav Vl?ek and the Vice President of the Senate Ji?i Liška the presidium provided information about the work of the IAC in the areas of education and enlightenment of young people.

“Remembering and encouraging young people in the past and the present to actively support democracy: this is the lifetime achievement of the survivors in the International Auschwitz Committee,” said Christoph Heubner, executive Vice President of the IAC. And during the talks with the prime minister Roman Kent, the American Vice President of the IAC remarked: “If we had the chance, we would add an eleventh commandment to the existing ten: never be just a passive observer.”

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