It is with utmost respect and deep gratitude that Auschwitz survivors around the world are bidding farewell to Professor Rita Süssmuth. When hearing of her death, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the Committee, stated in Berlin:

“In each one of her political roles, Rita Süssmuth displayed genuine interest and constant sensitivity towards the lives and involvement of survivors of German concentration and extermination camps. Her interest in political and educational exchanges with survivors was always shaped by her personal sense of responsibility for a shared future, which she saw as one of the most important challenges for democracy in Germany in view of rising anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism.

Rita Süssmuth thus became a greatly respected and trusted person for many Holocaust survivors. For them she embodied a new, democratic Germany. With her contributions to German-Polish dialogue and her support for the International Youth Meeting Center in Oswiecim/Auschwitz, Rita Süssmuth became one of the most important German politicians to make learning from history credible, because she provided a convincing personal example.