Yahoo - AFP, January 27, 2016
Berlin (AFP) - Holocaust survivor Ruth Klueger on Wednesday lauded Germany for keeping its doors open to thousands of war refugees, calling Chancellor Angela Merkel's "we can do it" slogan "heroic".
 |
| Holocaust survivor Ruth Klueger delivers a speech on Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2016 at the German parliament in Berlin (AFP Photo/John MacDougall) |
Berlin (AFP) - Holocaust survivor Ruth Klueger on Wednesday lauded Germany for keeping its doors open to thousands of war refugees, calling Chancellor Angela Merkel's "we can do it" slogan "heroic".
"This
country, which was responsible for the worst crimes of the century, has won the
applause of the world today," the 84-year-old scholar told the German
parliament in an address as part of commemorations for International Holocaust
Remembrance Day.
"I am
one of the many outsiders who has gone from surprise to admiration,"
Klueger said, describing Merkel's rallying call of "We can do it" as
a "simple but heroic slogan".
Merkel has
repeated the mantra over recent months as she has resisted fierce opposition --
even from within her conservative camp -- to reverse her policy towards
refugees.
Klueger,
who now lives in the United States, said it was precisely Merkel's approach
toward those fleeing war and misery that had moved her to accept the German
parliament's invitation to speak on the 71st anniversary of the liberation of
Auschwitz death camp.
Klueger is
one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust, and was first deported to the
Auschwitz before being sent to the forced labour camp Christianstadt.
Germany has
commemorated the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau every year for the past two
decades.
Around 1.1
million people, most of them European Jews, perished between 1940 and 1945 in
the camp before it was liberated by Soviet forces.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.