At the annual memorial ceremony honouring 23 Luxembourgish resistance members, officials spoke on the enduring need to remember the past and combat current trends of hatred, intolerance, and political polarisation.
In 1944, exactly 80 years ago, 23 Luxembourgish resistance members were shot and killed in the Hinzert concentration camp located near Trier. As per tradition, the annual memorial ceremony in their honour took place at the Notre-Dame cemetery next to the Hinzert cross. Here, Prime Minister Luc Frieden spoke on the braveness of the men who risked their lives in the name of freedom and independence of the Grand-Duchy.
Guy Dockendorf, vice president of the Committee for the Remembrance of the Second World War, explained that it is human nature to want to forget traumatic memories, but it is precisely because of this that we have a duty to remember the atrocities enacted by the Nazi regime. However, a glance over current news headlines shows that this duty to remember may not have been enough, he further noted: "We have noticed that even in our present society, hatred and intolerance somehow persist." These ceremonies are only valuable if we can learn lessons from them too, observed the vice president.
In his speech, Dockendorf also talked about increasing political polarisation, the rise of right wing extremism across Europe and beyond, which he thinks is pushing social cohesion to its limits. Therefore, critical thinking remains of the utmost importance and we must push ourselves to not blindly follow one side, he highlighted while pleading that we must have the courage to ask questions and not take every piece of information at face value.
Prime Minister also attended Sunday's memorial ceremony, emphasising in his speech that we must stand up for democracy, human rights, and social cohesion on a daily basis. He expressed gratitude to people from all social backgrounds who stood up for these values during the Second World War. "If this were to happen again today, and it is happening in Europe and in Ukraine, then we must stick together. As countries, even within our own, to say 'we do not accept this'", stated Frieden.
The PM concluded by saying that we must have tolerance and respect for opinions that are not our own. However, certain values must be defended at all cos, this is the duty of government and its citizens, he contended.
