(c) Shahar Azran / World Jewish Congress
At the welcome dinner for Holocaust survivors and their families during the opening ceremonies of the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in January WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps member Gila Baumoehl delivered a moving tribute to her great-grandmother, who perished at Auschwitz.
The welcome dinner was organized by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation, ahead of the main ceremony on the grounds of the death camp in the presence of survivors and dignitaries from around the world.
In her remarks, Gila showed the audience the last letter her grandmother, Hilda, received from her mother, Ida, before Ida was deported to Auschwitz. Gila remarked that the letter isn’t only a memento, but “a call to action. A reminder of what mankind is capable of.”
Baumoehl also spoke about the rise of antisemitism around the world, saying that “we do not only need actions, we need activists!”
“The antisemites and haters want us to believe that we are too few, that we are alone. But this is not the case! We are not alone. The haters are only louder than us. They want us to believe that if we speak up, if we act, no one will come to our support. But this is not true. We do have friends and allies by our side.”