A packed house at the Sydney Jewish Museum for IHRD
Close to 300 members of the Sydney Jewish community commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. A J-Wire photo gallery.
Anthony Levin, Susie Berk, Olga Horak, Jonathan Sankey
CEO of the museum Kevin Sumption told the audience: “Within our walls, you will find 3000 testimonies from survivors who made Australia home. The testimonies are a central part of what we do, and most importantly, making those available to the public. And we do that in a particular way. We do that through our communities, publications, we do it through our websites, and we also, importantly, do it through our exhibitions.”
George Foster, president of the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, reminded the audience that “the 27th of January 2023, marks the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the most notorious Nazi camp, Auschwitz Birkenau”
He continued: “We’ve gathered here today to commemorate this sombre event and the 17th anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps and become the archetype of industrialised mass murder of 1.3 million people sent there, at least 1.1 million were murdered mainly through gassing. But many also succumbed to starvation, beatings, and shooting. 1/6 of all the Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust were gassed to death. In addition to the Jews, 10s of 1000s of Christian Poles, Roma gypsies, and Soviet prisoners of war were also murdered there.”
Olga Horak survived Auschwitz and told the audience of her experiences in World War II and of her time in Auschwitz.
She said: “Auschwitz-Birkenau was hell on earth. People living in the city nearby pretended not to have known what happened right. On their very doorsteps.”
She continued: The first deportations from Bratislava took place in the early days of March 1942.
1000 Jewish girls were collected to be transported to Auschwitz, which at that time, was still unknown. My sister was one of them. We never saw her or heard of her again.”
We are here to remember the liberation of Auschwitz. We mourn the 6 million and many more victims who are unaccounted for. We mourn and shed tears for the half million innocent children lost.
We also paid tribute to the allied forces. They fought for peace. Many lost their lives. We remember the righteous Gentiles, the brave human beings who saved lives under grave danger.”
Speaking for the younger generation, Cara Berkley said: “For the last five years, we have conducted Yom Hashoah ceremonies, educational events, and engaged in cross-community collaboration with young adults.”
Photos: Giselle Haber
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