Nikad vi?e je danas

(ENGLISH BELOW)

Povodom Me?unarodnog dana se?anja na Holokaust

Povodom Me?unarodnog dana se?anja na Holokaust, Terraforming i Jevrejski omladinski klub Beograd, u saradnji sa Jevrejskim kulturnim centrom u Beogradu, 25. januara 2024. organizovali su manifestaciju pod nazivom "Nikad vi?e je danas".

Pred prepunom salom JKC, Brankica Jankovi?, poverenica za za?titu ravnopravnosti je zvani?no otvorila izlo?bu "Neke re?i o Holokaustu u Srbiji", a prisutnima su se obratili Goran Aleksi?, dr?avni sekretar u Ministarstvu spoljnih poslova Republike Srbije i ?ef delegacije Republike Srbije u Me?unarodnoj alijansi za se?anje na Holokaust IHRA, Miodrag Ivanovi?, dr?avni sekretar u Ministarstvu kulture. Usledilo je obra?anje ambasadora, kao i ambasadori i predstavnici ambasada (po abecednom redu) Austrije, Francuske, Izraela, Nema?ke, ?vedske, Velike Britanije i Evropske Unije.

U ime doma?ina i organizatora govorili smo Filip Belevski iz Jevrejskog omladinskog kluba Beograd, i kao direktor NVO Terraforming i ?lan delegacije Republike Srbije u Me?unarodnoj alijansi za se?anje na Holokaust ( International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance IHRA), prisutnima sam se obratio i ja.

Ovde prenosim govor u celosti.

Obra?anje na manifestaciji "Nikad vi?e je danas"

Po?tovani zvani?nici i gosti, dragi prijatelji,

danas smo se okupili pod sloganom “Nikad vi?e je danas” da obele?imo Me?unarodni dan se?anja na Holokaust.

Me?unarodni je, jer je se?anje na Holokaust zajedni?ka briga i civilizacijska du?nost svih dr?ava, nacija, zajednica i gra?ana Evrope, pa tako i na?a. Zajedni?ka je briga i du?nost, jer je u du?egupku na obali Save sa 6,5 hiljada Jevreja iz Beograda, Banata i drugih delova okupirane Srbije, u?lo i 6 miliona Jevreja iz cele Evrope, koje su provezli kroz centar Beograda u smrt. Se?anje na Holokaust je zajedni?ka briga i du?nost jer je i iz Topovskih ?upa na streljanje odvedeno 6 miliona Jevreja, ba? kao i sa hiljada drugih mesta ?irom Evrope, malih i velikih strati?ta, poznatih i obele?enih mesta masovnih egzekucija do nepoznatih lokacija zaraslih u ?ipra?je i zaborav.?

Zajedni?ka je briga i du?nost jer se ovih dana u memorijalnim centrima i na sve?anim akademijama posve?enim Danu se?anja na Holokaust, u Oslu, Stokholmu, Krakovu, Pragu, Berlinu, Milanu, Lincu, Parizu, Londonu, Rijeci, Temi?varu, Skoplju, Solunu, i Budimpe?ti, i stotinama drugih gradova, se?aju na?ih sugra?ana Jevreja, kao neodvojivog dela jednog istog zlo?ina bez presedana. Ovo isti?em, jer odgovornost prema kulturi se?anja na Holokaust ne zna?i samo odnos prema istorijskim doga?ajima koji su se odigrali u Srbiji, na na?em nacionalnom kulturno-istorijskom prostoru, nego i prema celokupnom evropskom nasle?u nakon Holokausta. Isto tako, doga?aji i ?rtve Holokausta koje obele?avamo u Srbiji, nisu samo na?e, nego pripadaju i celokupnoj evropskoj kulturi se?anja.?

Na?e se?anje je i deo evropske i svetske kulture se?anja

Zato kada pripremamo i gradimo nove memorijalne centre, Staro sajmi?te u Beogradu, najavljeni novi centar u Novom Sadu posve?en Novosadskoj raciji, ili memorijalni centar u Boru, moramo biti svesni da to nije samo deo na?eg nasle?a, i nije samo deo na?e obaveze, ve? je deo zajedni?ke, evropske, i ?ire, svetske kulture se?anja.?

Me?unarodna alijansa za se?anje na Holokaust IHRA je najvi?i me?unarodni autoritet kada je u pitanju identifikovanje prioriteta i kreiranje politika kulture se?anja, prvenstveno na Holokaust, na Samudaripen ali i druga stradanja. Izuzetno je dobro i pohvalno ?to je Vlada Republike Srbije u oktobru pro?le godine zvani?no usvojila i na taj na?in zvani?no preporu?ila svim relevantnim institucijama da se u svom radu upravljaju definicijama Me?unarodne alijanse, me?u kojima su i definicija antisemitizma, definicija anticiganizma, definicija iskrivljenja i manipulacije istorijom, i definicija arhivske gra?e Holokausta. Ponosan sam da je i na?a organizacija Terraforming u ovome imala zna?ajnu ulogu.

Iskrivljenje, manipulacija i zloupotreba istorije

Danas je najve?i problem sa kojim se susre?emo iskrivljenje, manipulacija i zloupotreba istorije, odnosno se?anja, u svrhu promocije nacionalizma, straha i mr?nje. Sa tim problemom se suo?avamo i u Srbiji. Se?anje mo?e i mora da slu?i samo jednome: a to je da sa po?tovanjem pamtimo ?rtve, i to kao individue, a ne kao bezli?ne delove mase isklju?ivo jednog, neretko upitnog identiteta, i da kroz se?anje razvijamo kriti?ko mi?ljenje i svest o sopstvenoj li?noj i dru?tvenoj odgovornosti da MI takve zlo?ine ne ponovimo drugima, i da ustanemo i glasno se suprotstavimo ako uo?imo da se ne?ija gra?anska i ljudska prava ugro?avaju. Zbog toga su jednako va?ni segmenti iskrene, smislene i hrabre kulture se?anja upravo oni kroz koje preispitujemo mra?ne kutke sopstvene istorije, kada su na?i sunarodnici ?inili zlo?ine, ili u njima u?estvovali, ili zlo?incima pomagali, ili iz zlo?ina izvla?ili korist, ili sklanjali pogled i okretali glavu da ne vide. Bez ispitivanja takvih primera nema istinskog razvoja kriti?kog mi?ljenja, a to je su?tinski smisao kulture se?anja, i to zna?i “nikad vi?e”.

Antisemitizam je utkan u sr? evropskog kulturnog identieta

Ne mo?emo govoriti o se?anju na Holokaust bez da govorimo o antisemitizmu. Kao ?to nije po?eo sa nacizmom, antisemitizam nije nestao sa oslobo?enjem Au?vica. Antisemitizam koji je vekovima utkan u sr? evropskog kulturnog identieta ostao je u na?im dru?tvima do danas, samo je ponekad manje ili vi?e u senci, sakriven. Nakon teroristi?kog napada Hamasa na Izrael u oktobru 2023. godine svedoci smo nezapam?enog porasta antisemitizma u celoj Evropi, pa tako i u Srbiji. Zapanjeni smo ti?inom javnosti i izostajanjem osuda antisemitskih incidenata, me?u kojima je svakako najflagrantniji napad na prostorije na?ih drugara iz organizacije Haver Srbija. Zbog urgentnosti da reagujemo, i da skrenemo pa?nju javnosti na rastu?i iminetni problem antisemitizma u na?em dru?tvu, kao i ?irom Evrope, uz poznati slogan dodajemo i nagla?avamo da je trenutak kada moramo delovati za “Nikad vi?e” upravo DANAS.

UP2US Novi Sad - Rijeka - Temi?var

Jo? u septembru 2022. godine osnovali smo Centar za borbu protiv antisemitizma i netolerancije CBA, a sa ponosom ?elim da istaknem da u saradnji sa nizom eminentnih istra?iva?kih i akademskih institucija, dr?avnih institucija i organizacija civilnog dru?tva iz Srbije, Hrvatske, Rumunije, Nema?ke, Norve?ke i SAD, kao i drugih partnera, za par meseci zapo?injemo veliki projekat UP2US Novi Sad - Rijeka - Temi?var, u okviru kojeg ?emo sa odabranim ciljnim grupama koje su krucijalne za formiranje javnog diskursa i razumevanja antisemitizma, raditi na mapiranju kapaciteta da se identifikuje antisemitizam, i razviti preporuke za donosioce odluka i kreatore politika u regionu jugoisto?ne Evrope.

Na kraju, ?elim posebno da se zahvalim Filipu Belevskom i Jevrejskom omladinskom klubu Beograd na saradnji na organizaciji ovog doga?aja, i da istaknem da ?emo saradnju svakako nastaviti i produbljivati.

Priznanje “Se?anje na HIldu Daj?”

I jo? samo ?elim da vas podsetim da ?emo u maju po tre?i put dodeliti priznanje “Se?anje na HIldu Daj?” i pozivam vas da putem formulara na sajtu hildadajc.rs po?aljete predloge za nominaciju kandidata.

Hvala vam.

(ENGLISH)

NEVER AGAIN IS TODAY

On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Terraforming and the Jewish Youth Club Belgrade, in cooperation with the Jewish Cultural Center in Belgrade, on January 25, 2024, organized an event called "Never Again is Today."

In front of a packed audience, Brankica Jankovi?, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, officially opened the exhibition "Some Words about the Holocaust in Serbia." The audience was addressed by Mr. Goran Aleksi?, state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and head of the delegation of the Republic of Serbia to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance IHRA, and Mr. Miodrag Ivanovi?, State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, followed by the ambassadors and representatives of the embassies (in alphabetical order) of Austria, France, Germany, Israel, Sweden, UK and the European Union.

On behalf of the host and organizers, the audience was addressed by Filip Belevski from the Jewish Youth Club Belgrade, and me, as the director of Terraforming ing and a member of the delegation of the Republic of Serbia to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance IHRA.

I am sharing my speech in its entirety here.

My speech

Officials and guests, dear friends,

today, we gathered under the slogan "Never Again is Today" to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It is international because remembering the Holocaust is a common obligation and a duty of all states, nations, communities, and citizens of Europe, including ours. It is a shared concern and duty because 6 million Jews from all over Europe entered the gas van on the banks of the Sava River together with 6.5 thousand Jews from Belgrade, Banat, and other parts of occupied Serbia, and were taken through the center of Belgrade to their death. Remembrance of the Holocaust is a common concern and duty because 6 million Jews were taken to be shot from Topovske ?upe, just like from thousands of other places throughout Europe, small and large execution grounds, known and marked places of mass executions or unknown locations overgrown with scrub and oblivion.

It is a shared obligation and duty because these days at the memorial centers dedicated to Holocaust Remembrance in Oslo, Krakow, Prague, Berlin, Milan, Linz, Paris, London, Rijeka, Timisoara, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Stockholm, Budapest, New York, Jerusalem, Johannesburg and Melbourne, and hundreds of other cities, people remember our fellow citizens Jews, as an inseparable part of the same unprecedented crime. I emphasize this because responsibility towards the remembrance culture of the Holocaust does not only mean a memory of the historical events that took place in Serbia, in our national cultural and historical spaces but also of the entire European heritage after the Holocaust. Likewise, the events and victims of the Holocaust that we commemorate in Serbia are not only ours but also belong to the entire European culture of remembrance.

Our Holocaust remembrance is a part of the shared European memory culture

That is why when we prepare and build new memorial centers, such as Staro Sajmiste in Belgrade, the announced new center in Novi Sad dedicated to the Novi Sad Raid, or the memorial center in Bor, we must be aware that it is not only part of our heritage, and not only part of our obligation but part of the shared European and wider memory culture.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance IHRA is the highest international authority when it comes to identifying priorities and creating policies for the culture of remembrance, primarily for the Holocaust, for Samudaripen, but also for other sufferings. It is commendable that in October 2023, the Government of the Republic of Serbia officially endorsed, adopted, and thus officially recommended to all relevant institutions that their work should be guided by the IHRA working definitions, including the definition of antisemitism, antigypsyism, Holocaust distortion, and Holocaust archival material. I am proud that Terraforming played a significant role in this process.

Distortion, manipulation, and abuse of history

Today, the biggest problem we face is the distortion, manipulation, and abuse of history for the purpose of promoting nationalism, fear, and hate. We are also facing this problem in Serbia. Remembrance can and must serve only one purpose: to remember the victims with respect, as individuals, and not as impersonal parts of the mass of only one and often questionable identity, and to develop critical thinking, awareness, and social responsibility that WE should not repeat such crimes to others, and to stand up and loudly oppose if we see that someone's civil and human rights are being threatened. That is why the important segments of a sincere, meaningful, and courageous culture of remembrance are those through which we examine the dark corners of our own history, when our compatriots committed crimes, or participated in crimes, or benefited from the crimes, or looked away. Without examining such examples, there is no true development of critical thinking, and that is the essential meaning of the culture of memory and the true "Never Again."

Antisemitism is woven into the core of European cultural identity

We cannot talk about the memory of the Holocaust without talking about antisemitism. Antisemitism did not begin with Nazism and did not disappear with the liberation of Auschwitz. Antisemitism, woven into the core of European cultural identity for centuries, has remained in our societies to this day, only sometimes it is more or less in the shadows. After the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, we are witnessing an unprecedented increase in antisemitism throughout Europe, including in Serbia. We are amazed by the silence of the public and the absence of condemnations of antisemitic incidents, among which the most serious was the attack on the premises of our friends, Haver Serbia. Due to the urgency to react and to draw the public's attention to the growing imminent problem of antisemitism in our society, as well as throughout Europe, we add to the well-known slogan and emphasize that the moment when we must act for "Never Again" is TODAY.

UP2US Novi Sad - Rijeka - Timi?oara

As early as September 2022, we founded the Center for Combating Antisemitism and Intolerance CBA. I would like to proudly point out that in cooperation with a number of eminent research and academic institutions, state institutions, and civil society organizations from Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Germany, Norway, and the USA, as well as other partners, in a few months, we will start the big project UP2US Novi Sad - Rijeka - Timi?oara, within which we will work with selected target groups that are crucial for shaping the public discourse and understanding of antisemitism, to map the capacity to identify antisemitism and develop recommendations for decision-makers and policy-makers in the Southeast European region.

Finally, I would like to thank Filip Belevski and the Jewish Youth Club of Belgrade for their cooperation in organizing this event and emphasize that we will certainly continue and deepen our cooperation.

The Remembering Hilda Daj? Award

I want to remind you that in May, for the third time, we will present the "Remembering Hilda Daj? Award. I hereby invite you to send proposals for the nomination of candidates via the form on the website www.hildadajc.rs.

Thank you.