Zsolt Németh, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, stated that even if all the circumstances demonstrate that it is impossible, we can always choose the right way, choose life, and it is a moral duty of human beings to decide for the right path. At an international conference in Budapest on Tuesday, Ilan Mor, Israel’s Ambassador to Budapest said that during the Holocaust humankind had shown its worst side.

The Holocaust Memorial Centre, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice organised a conference entitled “Can we say no?” to recall the example of those who said no to the breach of the historical coexistence, to the infringement of the moral traditions of the nation, who defied the discrimination, the deprivation of civil rights, the inhumanity, and the persecution sanctioned by the laws and regulations effective at that time in Hungary’s territory between 1938 and the spring of 1945.

At the opening ceremony Zsolt Németh said the rescuers had made a conscious decision in favour of life, in favour of the lives of others, even if this had often meant a decision against their own lives. He added they had dared to say no in the darkness of the Nazi regime; they had been glowing like stars in the night sky. They proved that it was possible to choose the right way instead of the wrong one, to choose life instead of death. He emphasised that the rescuers continue to serve as examples.

Zsolt Németh claimed there had been many people who had said nothing and – therefore – had become entangled in an evil system as indifferent parts of it. Others said yes to the system of death out of material interest, or out of fear of losing their livelihood, or for being followers of the anti-human and anti-Christian Nazi ideology.

As he stated, the reason for the organisation of the conference on 15 May was the fact that the mass deportations commenced in Hungary on this day in 1944, and Count János Esterházy voted against the bill allowing for the deportation of Slovakian Jews as the only one in the Parliament of Bratislava on this day in 1942.

He emphasised that it was absurd that there is a country in the EU where one of the outstanding moral examples is still regarded as a war criminal. He stated that János Esterházy’s life should be examined from a historical perspective, and his consistent moral opposition to the persecution of Jews must lead to his rehabilitation.

Ilan Mor, Israel’s Ambassador to Budapest said the Holocaust had represented a watershed in history: after those terrible years nothing had been the same as before, since humankind had shown its worst side in these years.

He said the rescuers, who had even been willing to sacrifice their own lives, had obviously set good examples. He explained that these people had not necessarily wanted to become rescuers, but when the Jews had asked for help, they had not said no, and this had changed their lives for ever.

Concerning Raoul Wallenberg, the Ambassador said the late Swedish diplomat had used unconventional methods to rescue Jews – for instance, he had bribed some people. However, he managed to save several lives and played a leading role in helping the Jews; he became symbol of the rescuing activity.

Christian Mühlethaler, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Budapest emphasised that the rescuers had even risked their own life in order to raise their voice against inhumanity. The significance of their efforts is increased by the fact that it was the people’s own conscience that mainly determined what was right at that time, while today we have more collective values to guide us, as human rights clearly define what we can tolerate.

He said these collective principles had been formed on the basis of the experience of the Second World War; thus, the Holocaust had contributed to the codification of what we should never again accept.

Karin Olofsdotter, Sweden’s Ambassador to Budapest highlighted that although international law provided for human rights, people were still executed for their religious or ethnic affiliation in the world. He claimed that Raoul Wallenberg had set an example by his deeds as a testimony of his courage, but even today all of us could try to effect change in the world according to their own abilities.

The conference was organised within the framework of the Wallenberg Year. János Esterházy (1901-1957) consistently fought for the survival and rights of the Hungarians in Slovakia between the two World Wars and during the Second World War. He was the only Hungarian MP in the Parliament of Slovakia during the Second World War, and he was the only MP in the legislative of the fascist Slovakia to vote against the deportation of Slovakian Jews. However, after the war he was convicted as a war criminal and sentenced to death. The sentence was later modified to life imprisonment.

Raoul Wallenberg, who was born on 4 August 1912, worked as a diplomat of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest, and rescued thousands of – according to some sources 20 000 – people by providing them with Swedish travel documents or sheltering them in protected houses in 1944.

(kormany.hu)