The state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania started the session week today with a memorial service on November 9th. “Truly a fateful day in German history. It is therefore a good joint signal that the democratic parliamentary groups in the state parliament, in view of the Holocaust, submitted the joint motion ‘Never again! Learning from history for the future’, said Julian Barlen, chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the state parliament, in his speech.
“Even 84 years after the Night of Broken Glass, on November 9th we as a state parliament are committed to taking responsibility for ensuring that the horror, the suffering and the social mechanisms of hatred and annihilation in National Socialism are not forgotten and admonish us to be active and to be vigilant and never let it come to that again.
We do this by commemorating together and keeping historical knowledge alive and present. We do this by recognizing and clearly naming anti-Semitism in its changing forms. We do this by resolutely countering its sometimes specific, sometimes very everyday manifestations and preventing it through educational work. We do that by saying very clearly with this motion: ‘The right to exist and the security of the democratic and Jewish state of Israel is non-negotiable’. And we do that by taking a heavy hand as a state against hate and violence and protecting Jewish life in Germany and MV and Jewish institutions!
This clear stance and this commitment – this should be said to everyone who thinks of the much-quoted ‘bird shit’ in the AfD when it comes to the Holocaust – this clear stance and this commitment are not eliminated through ritualized processing or become less important over time . On the contrary: in terms of historical responsibility, it is an ongoing task that is part of our German identity after the Second World War and becomes more important the more the memory of contemporary witnesses fades.
For us, never again means: understanding memorials, reappraisal and educational work as important elements of remembrance, admonition and attitude, especially for younger generations. For us, that means above all: In the here and now, to live peacefully, diversely and happily with our Jewish fellow human beings, to work, to laugh and to strengthen and use encounters and dialogue for this purpose.
We also make a clear statement today: never again! And we stick together! Thank you to everyone involved in MV. Organizing, living and experiencing normal Jewish life. And thank you to everyone in the state and civil society who is resolutely opposed to anti-Semitism, hatred and violence! It’s about awareness of historical responsibility, it’s about fighting anti-Semitism and effective protection, and it’s about diverse, respectful coexistence. Today and in the future!”
