Newyorki Figyelő, 1997 (22. évfolyam, 1-8. szám)
1997-05-30 / 5. szám
)97. május 30. NEWYORKI FIGYELŐ 3 Részletek Kovács István főkonzul beszédéből: 'In my capacity as consul-general of the Republic of Hungary it is an honor for me to have been invited here today at this memorial. As most of you know during her 1100 years Hungary has gone through a very turbulent and often painful history and events. One of the most tragic one has occured this century when due to unfortunate circumstances that we are still trying to comprehend, the biggest tragedy of mankind took place in Europe: the Holocaust. These events to our dismay reeled in to Hungary where the tragedy of the Hungarian Jewish community has been the greatest in our history. Today, when the bipolar world left to us by the sad heritage of the H WWar has disappeared, the strength of democratic values have mercifully increased in Hungary and in our region. Central Europe is again following a path of independence and freedom that was seldom possible in the past. However the difficulties that this region has to face are manifold. The economic transformation takes its toll not only on the popularity rating of governing parties but on the average Hungarian person. These difficulties and the related social tensions, at times may cause circumstances unwanted by most but used by some to promote their misguided goals leading to intolerance. Our gathering here today and the possibility that I have been given to address you as the representative of the Republic of Hungary eloquently demonstrates that by combining our efforts we shall defend the democratic values and stand up for a world free of discrimination. We owe it to the martyrs. It cannot be assumed that the Holocaust has been in contemporary history a unique event never to be repeated. These lines made me think and reflect. Is it really so? Unfortunately the sincere answer even today is: yes, it could happen to any community again if we forget our past and our duty to prevent a reoccurence. It is our most important duty to speak up and to act whenever we encounter in our everyday life signs that point at discrimination against any group or community. Knowledge of our past is a key element in teaching the new generations. In this respect I wish to mention the relentless work of Ervin Farkas, the president of the World Federation of Hungarian Jews. His teaching taught many of us that one should always stand up for his or her principles even if it is painful at times and does not reflect the popular mood. We should never forget that the work that we are doing will never be finished. We have to be vigilant and teach our children to be vigilant against any type of discrimination that can lead to disastrous events. Humanity rarely learned from mistakes of the past but the stakes are high so therefore we owe to the martyrs to keep the teaching alive and to prevent forever the remotest possibility of the reoccurence of such tragedy. Kedves Barátaim! Nagy megtiszteltetés, hogy a Magyar Köztársaság főkonzuljaként Önökkel lehetek itt a mai megemlékezésen. Tartozunk a mártíroknak az emlékezéssel, de főleg azzal, hogy hasonló tragédia soha ne ismétlődhessen meg a jövőben. Ennek megelőzése mindannyiunk legnemesebb feladata kell, hogy legyen. Mindenkit kérek arra, hogy közösen álljunk ki közös jövőnk mellett és biztosítsuk azt, hogy szerte e világban többé sohase ismétlődhessenek meg a Holocausthoz vezető események. A magyar diplomácia elsődleges erkölcsi feladatai közé tartozik ma a kölcsönös értékek képviselete és a jobb megértés, a tolerancia elősegítése nemzetközi kapcsolataink minden területén." A mártirűnnepen elhangzott további felszólalások az 5. oldalon találhatók. ÚJ MAGYAR RÁDIÓ NEW YORK BAN ! Nyissa ki rádióját vasárnap, már délelőtt 11 órakor ! Új magyar nyelvű adás indul május 11-én, Pulitzer Rádió néven, az eddig is jól ismert 1380 AM hullámhosszon. Műsorunk a magyarországi, valamint New York és környéki kulturális élet híreiről tudósít fél órában. Újszerű zenés, irodalmi, verses összeállításunk főszerkesztője Márer György, az Amerika Hangja Magyar Osztályának nyugalmazott főszerkesztője.Irodalmi főmunkatárs: Koppány Mária. Viszonthallásra minden vasárnap délelőtt 11 órakor az 1380 AM hullámhosszon 1 Részletek Michael C. Farkas beszédéből: "Dear family and friends, Some years ago, I stood before you and explained what it meant to me to be a third generation Holocaust survivor. I expressed my love and admiration for my grandfather, and my commitment to preserve the legacy of those who, experienced the horrors of Nazi aggression. I attempted to pay homage to those who, in an unfathomable number, perished, and I pledged my undying dedication to ensuring that this, and future generations, never forget. While I unconditionally reaffirm those convictions before you today, I must point out that something has changed. I ask for your permission to indulge me for the next few moments, as I speak to you about matters which are quite personal to me. Those years ago I owned all my education, experience, and exposure to our dark history to lessons learned in books, tales told by family and friends, and insight gained from the life-work I have seen my grandfather make of ensuring a peaceful future for Jews around the world. Yes, I had visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, I had attended several memorials, and toured other services throughout the country. But still my experiences were not personal. I was lacking a certain perspective, as do many Jews of my generation - abstract knowledge requires emotional relation. To a great extent, I now believe I have attained such perspective. Allow me to expain why. Some of you may know that I am currently an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. In July of 1996, I was called to active duty and sent to Germany, where I lived for the next eight months. My mission was to support the United Nations peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans, by filling positions that had been vacated by active army personnel who were deployed to the Bosnia region. This mission had a special significance to Jews, I believed, since the types of genocidial madness perpetrated in that area of the world were shockingly similar to those committed half a century ago. While there was much work to be done, I was also given a remarkable oppurtunity to travel throughout Europe. In doing so, however, I didn't realize that I would be travelling through my own past. Mere knowledge had suddenly attained added meaning for me. The places I had heard of, the peoples living in the areas studied, and often times the very stuctures involved, were now before me. I travelled among them, visited sites of untold terror, and listened for the echoes of those who must not be forgotten. In Nürnberg, in Dutzendeich Park, I stood upon the same pedestal where Adolf Hitler addressed thongs of blind supporters, who gladly perpetuated an inexplicable hatred. In Prague, I walked amongst the Jewish Ghetto, where thousands had thrived before being taken to meet their inevitable fate at Auschwitz. In Dachau, I was moved to pick up a rock, which for a reason I cannot readily explain, I considered a symbol of remembrance. Perhaps because the rock can survive through ages of time, through driving rains and harsh winters, through the heat of deserts, and yet still retain its shape and character, did I consider it to be an accurate symbol of how our martyrs' legacies must also survive. I now keep this rock with me, as my personal reminder to Never Forget. My history had finally become part of me. A perspective had been gained. My reaffirmation of duty that I make to you today, therefore, has the inexorable endorsement of my very soul. But I am only one - it is not enough. It is a welcome and appropriate coincidence that today is also the second anniversary of my commissioning as an Officer in the U.S. Army. This is significant, because I hold my duty to preserve the freedoms and opportunities that this nation provides with the same fervor and commitment with which I regard my religious faith. To ensure the promises of equality and freedom for us, American patriotism and Jews are unavoidably interwoven, I believe, as liberty and prosperity as a people are both just and righteous aims. My message, my devotion, my duty, therefore, rests with the following: As my employer, the D.A. of Kings County, Charles J. Hynes stated in a recent Yom Hashoah commemoration, "Our obligation, Jew and Gentile, is to continue to fight to expose every generation to the truth." Only through this, and our dedication to the future, may we attain peace. Throughout my travels this past year, I noted an acute awareness of the lessons of the Holocaust shared by people of each city I visited. From monuments, to museums, to ceremonies of remembrance, to the recent acknowledgement by the Spanish, Swedish, and Swiss governments of their shameful roles in assisting the Nazi regime, it is clear that the message of Never Forget has been heard to some extent by all of the cultures previously involved the great tragedy of our millennium. But for each of those who have acknowledged that lesson, there are perhaps more who taint the memory of the Holocaust. There are those who minimize, distort, and even deny its enormity. It must be our everlasting obligation to continue to enlighten the ingnorant, and to teach every generation, so that this evil can never revive again. May that message continue to spread, and may that message touch everyone as it has me. G-d bless you. EMLÉKEZZÉL ÉS NE FELEJTS!
