Commenting in Berlin on tomorrow’s ceremony for the decoration of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld with a high award from the French Republic by President Macron alongside his state visit to Germany, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, said:

“For many decades Beate and Serge Klarsfeld have dedicated their energy and their lives to the pursuit and prosecution of Nazi mass murderers and their willing helpers. Their voices gained worldwide resonance. They became staunch advocates for justice and remembrance. Survivors of the German concentration and extermination camps are deeply grateful to Serge and Beate Klarsfeld for their kindness, their solidarity, their perseverance and their life's work.

They stood, and still stand, at the side of the Jewish families murdered in the camps and as well as at the side of the survivors in their mutual commitment against extreme right-wing hatred, new anti-Semitism and for democracy in Europe. For the survivors of Auschwitz, the fact that President Macron is honouring Serge and Beate Klarsfeld with this high award of the French Republic during his state visit to Germany is a particularly clear sign of the remembrance culture that shapes and sustains Europe.”