The World Jewish Congress partnered with the Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva of the European Union, France, Germany and Israel to bring a high-level delegation of 35 UN ambassadors and diplomats to the Maison d’Izieu, a museum in eastern France dedicated to the memory of children deported during the Holocaust.
Following the tour of the site, the diplomats were guided through the museum dedicated to the history of the Holocaust and the evolution of post-war criminal justice, including the Nuremberg trials. The exhibition specifically focuses on crucial role of the Maison d’Izieu during the course of the Klaus Barbie trial and the importance of survivor testimony in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The group of gathered diplomats was addressed by esteemed international lawyer Philippe Sands who talked about the development and challenges of the international justice system 75 years after the Nuremberg trials. This culminated in a discussion with Sands and Xavier-Jean Keita, of the International Criminal Court, who addressed the question of whether international justice is possible in today’s political climate.
In addition, the delegation was given a guided tour of a Jewish day school, at which 44 children and 7 teachers were arrested by Nazis officers and deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in April 1944.
During the tour, the diplomats we representated with an original Nuremberg trial photo album belonging to the French Judge Henri Donnedieu de Vabres. The conference was also attended by several descendants of Judges at the Nuremberg trials and representatives of the consular corps of Lyon.
