AUSCHWITZ AS A MEMORY TO BE LEARNED FROM DURING THE GENEVA SUMMIT BETWEEN THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA
Indeed, a Swiss education organization had set up a large exhibition on the shores of the lake, dedicated to the history of the Righteous Carl Lutz and the Jews of Budapest during the Holocaust. A panel was dedicated to the persecution of this Jewish minority in April-May 1944, and its arrival at the camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The event was opened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the United States Special Envoy on Holocaust Issues, Cherrie Daniels, and the Administrative Councillor in charge of diversity in the City of Geneva, Alfonso Gomez.
Geneva, in addition to being now home to the Red Cross and many international organizations, was also the center of rescue activities for Hungarian Jews during WWII. It became a popular place for emigrants after the war. Thus, many Hungarian Jewish families from Geneva had bequeathed their personal photos to the organizers.
Featured in early June 2021, the exhibition was exceptionally put back in place during the Summit between President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, next to the place of stay of the White House press corps.
“Just as in the 1930s, lies, hatred, scapegoating and dehumanization are a serious threat to our social fabric today, said UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet in her opening statement. We must ensure that public discourse is based on respect and facts, which objectively reflect the truth - including the fundamental truth of our equal rights and dignity as human beings."
In 2022, the exhibit will travel to Hungary and be featured next to the Shoes on the Danube Bank monument.
In June 2021, the city of Geneva experienced one of the most important diplomatic Summit in its History. On the shores of Lake Geneva, we talked about Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin... and Carl Lutz.
Cercle Carl Lutz
Cercle Carl Lutz is a Swiss educational organization named after the Righteous who led the largest diplomatic rescue operation of WWII. It trained the guides of the Auschwitz Museum and organized numerous panels and events in France, Hungary, Switzerland, Greece, Sweden, the United States and more recently in Warsaw, Poland. www.carl-lutz.com