PM delivers moving Holocaust memorial speech

[microrobert]

PM delivers moving Holocaust memorial speech

John Key's about to sit down to lunch ahead of his big state of the nation speech in Auckland.

But this morning it was a very different occasion, as he attended an event in Epsom to mark the UN's Holocaust Memorial Day.

Newstalk ZB's Allan Lee says it was a moving event, with Mr Key speaking passionately and without notes.

He says it's personal for the Prime Minister - his mother was an Austrian Jew and was forced to leave as a result of the Nazi invasion.

"She never wanted to talk about it and he told the audience today that his mother, whenever he tried to question her about it, she would just not answer. So he's never really found out the full story of what happened to her."

Mr Lee says Mr Key also spoke about Holocaust, saying people who deny it happened can only be described as mad.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland...emorial-speech

[Pontios]

Seems like there are more events for the Jews that died and their holocaust rather than celebrating the defeating the Nazis and the millions of soldiers who outnumber the Jews at least 3 times who fought and died to stop the Axis.

Or the millions of other civilians who died who again outnumber the Jews by a lot.

[SkyBurn]

Seems like there are more events for the Jews that died and their holocaust rather than celebrating the defeating the Nazis and the millions of soldiers who outnumber the Jews at least 3 times who fought and died to stop the Axis.

Or the millions of other civilians who died who again outnumber the Jews by a lot.

Genocide =/= casualties of war.

[SkyBurn]

Genocide =/= casualties of war.

That being said, I do resent that the gypsies and cripples/T1 project victims aren't remembered or mourned as strongly.

[Aquafina]

Just let us remember our history in peace.

The casualties of war for WWII get the same recognition as any others that died during war.

[SkyBurn]

Who the hell cares, anyway?

It's only New Zealand

[Stefan]

Genocide =/= casualties of war.

Hey, let's take Hillary Clinton's approach. "What difference, at this point, does it make?"

Anyway, I'm sure the families of those who died in the war bravely fighting against fascism would disagree with such statements. If Americans (and Europeans alike) hadn't fought that war, Jews (and many others) would be extinct right now.

One would think the holocaust happened yesterday with the consistent, and rampant reminder Jews give the world every moment they can. It's almost as if all gentiles must feel the guilt for the crimes of a minority population in accordance to their free will in a fascist state-ran political entity.

[SkyBurn]

Anyway, I'm sure the families of those who died in the war bravely fighting against fascism would disagree with such statements. If Americans (and Europeans alike) hadn't fought that war, Jews (and many others) would be extinct right now.

One would think the holocaust happened yesterday with the consistent, and rampant reminder Jews give the world every moment they can. It's almost as if all gentiles must feel the guilt for the crimes of a minority population in accordance to their free will in a fascist state-ran political entity.

I had a great grandfather who died in the war. He was a part of the British airforce.

Also, I think this is a case of "if you look, you will find". You think about this a lot, but most people don't really care enough to see Holocaust propaganda everywhere like you do, and don't get the guilt complex you think they do.

Personally, I don't hold Europe accountable for the mistakes of previous generations. However, if people stop discussing the Holocaust, the deniers will find themselves with no opposition, and allow history to repeat itself.

Most Jews have integrated into their societies, be it America, or New Zealand. Just because you perceive politicians and filmmakers as being obsessed (which I would argue against), does not mean that the majority actually feel the same way.

[Aquafina]

I had a great grandfather who died in the war. He was a part of the British airforce.

Also, I think this is a case of "if you look, you will find". You think about this a lot, but most people don't really care enough to see Holocaust propaganda everywhere like you do, and don't get the guilt complex you think they do.

Personally, I don't hold Europe accountable for the mistakes of previous generations. However, if people stop discussing the Holocaust, the deniers will find themselves with no opposition, and allow history to repeat itself.

Most Jews have integrated into their societies, be it America, or New Zealand. Just because you perceive politicians and filmmakers as being obsessed (which I would argue against), does not mean that the majority actually feel the same way.

Nice post.

[Stefan]

Personally, I don't hold Europe accountable for the mistakes of previous generations. However, if people stop discussing the Holocaust, the deniers will find themselves with no opposition, and allow history to repeat itself.

Is this necessarily true? Eventually people will stop discussing the holocaust as frequently as it's discussed today. I don't think that means it will happen again. If anything, the constant discussion of the holocaust is what fuels deniers. When somebody's battering you with the same facts again and again you start to question how truthful such statements are. The holocaust is already way past its time, yet it gets more coverage than African slavery and the trail of tears combined, for example. Hell, communism killed more people than the holocaust. The difference I suppose is that the Nazis were trying to kill a specific group of people while these other groups just killed their enemies. This group of people has felt threatened ever since and use such a fact for elevation, socially. When an entire state depends on these holocaust facts, it is quite important to get the message across indeed.