Bruce Ramer
Mr. President, distinguished guests,
being a last speaker of even a small section is a benefit and a burden. The benefit is being the last speaker of the session, at least this part of it, and the burden is being the last speaker of the session.
Its a great pleasure to be here today and to be afforded the opportunity to address this distinguished assembly. In the presence of President Havel and other dignitaries, and of the scholars and researchers of the holocaust who are participating in this important conference.
Like many visitors to Prague I' d had the opportunity to walk through the Old Town' s Jewish Quarter and to marvel at the restored synagogues and the unique collection of Judaica on exhibition at the Jewish Museum, all of which testifies to the rich Jewish life which once flourished here. It is only a few steps from the Old Jewish Cemetery to adjacent Pinkas Synagogue, but that very short journey tells a very long story. The weathered, ancient tombstones, markers of the earliest generation of Jews who lived and died here, reflect the deeply-rooted Jewish community of Prague, whose history spans hundreds of years. But, step into the Pinkas Synagogue, which has become the community' s memorial to the holocaust, and one sees painted on its walls the individual names of eighty thousand Nazi victims. These were the Jews of the Czech lands whose lives were cut short, who suffered horrible deaths, and who were buried far away from their homes in mass graves.
I cannot help but recall the poetry of Hannah Senesh, who fled to Palestine from Hungary, then volunteered to be parachuted back into Hungary to help other Jews escape, but who was captured by the Nazis and executed. Here is what she wrote:
There are stars whose radiance is visible on Earth
even though they have long been extinct.
There are people whose brilliance continues to
light the world though they are no longer
among the living.
These lights are particularly bright
when the night is dark.
They light the way for us all.
The two sites - the Jewish museum and the cemetery and Synagogue - symbolize the beginning and the end, the life and the death, of Czech Jewry. As was the case throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the holocaust destroyed all but a faint remnant of pre-war Jewish life. And the decades of gray and cold communist oppression - perhaps nowhere more severe than in Czechoslovakia - seemed to seal its death. During those years, we spoke of rescue; we spoke of preserving or even retrieving Jewish artifacts; but we did not speak of rebirth. Most survivors of the holocaust built new lives in Israel or with us in America, while the long and detailed chapter of Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe seemed to have closed for good. Or so we thought.
But the changes that unfolded ten years ago made the unimaginable become imaginable. Not the least of which is this extraordinary conference on the holocaust which begins today. And by examining the phenomenon of the holocaust here in the Czech lands, you also help to reestablish the roots of the small, but reviving Jewish community that, perhaps miraculously, does exist today in the Czech Republic. There was a shared history, and - we believe - there should be a shared future that connects Czech Jews with their fellow citizens.
I am reminded, at this time and place, of the words of Rabbi Leo Baeck, a man who was an inmate at Theresienstadt, only 40 miles or so from here, and at which place this conference, somewhat ironically, proceeds later. In 1938 in Germany in an essay entitled "Romantic religion", this is what Baeck wrote: "And a spirit is characterized not only by what it does but, no less, by what it permits, what it forgives, and what it beholds in silence." (The book which contained the essay was destroyed by the Nazis. Ten copies managed to survive.) Baeck' s words coincide with a commandment from the Torah (Deuteronomy): "You may not hide yourself." This is the coresponsibility of which President Havel spoke in 1992, when he referred to "co-responsibility for human actions and for the condition of the world in which we live." Coresponsibility.
Over the past decade, we, the American Jewish Committee, have worked closely with the leaders of the Czech Jewish community. Tomas Kraus, Jan Munk, Leo Pavlat, Jiri Danicek and others who are doing great things to revive Jewish life here and to reestablish a living Jewish presence in this country. In fact, earlier this spring the American Jewish Committee ratified a formal association agreement with the Federation of Czech Jewish communities, as a tangible sign of our commitment.
I' d like to join my colleagues and others in this room to commend the President and the present government of the Czech Republic for establishing a commission to examine the unresolved problems of property restitution that grew out of the seizures and looting during the holocaust. In fact, we are pleased that AJC can contribute to the work of this conference through the participation on that commission of our Director of European Affairs, Rabbi Andrew Baker.) Under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Rychetsky, it has begun to address these issues in a serious and comprehensive way. We hope that it will lead to the proper and necessary governmental actions that will implement the Commission' s recommendations. This is important not only for the obvious reasons of returning stolen communal property to its rightful owners and aiding the country' s Jewish revival. But also for the message it will send abroad that these principles are an essential element in securing the future of an open and democratic society. In turn, we hope these steps taken here can serve as positive examples for other nations who have not yet made similar progress.
Later today during the discussions this afternoon, you will hear from the American Jewish Committee' s Director of Research, Dr. David Singer. He will explain in greater detail that we have tried to direct our research efforts in ways that can assist many of those here at the conference. We have undertaken a systematic analysis secondary school curricula in the Czech Republic and in other countries of this region to see how they address the subject of the holocaust and related Jewish issues and themes in the classroom. We hope that these reports - which will be published both in English and in the local language - will serve as catalysts to help broaden and deepen the teachings of these vital subjects. We are also conducting new public opinion survey research in several areas, which will highlight questions about holocaust knowledge and remembrance and more general questions about attitudes towards Jews and other minority groups. The results should also help educators and political leaders in their work.
Finally, we believe that an open and honest confrontation with history - very much including a thorough examination of the phenomenon of the holocaust - will contribute to the building of a democratic, pluralist society that is respectful and appreciative and protective of its minorities and can recognize that this diversity is a source of great strength. So we are pleased to be counted among the international supporters of this three-day conference. I wish you every success in your discussions and deliberations. Thank you very much.