Title: PC.DEL/305/04
Author: User
Last saved by: fi200365
Company: OSCE

STATEMENT BY HON. MARGHERITA BONIVER,
DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ITALY, AT THE MEETING OF THE TASK FORCE FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION, REMEMBRANCE AND RESEARCH
ROME, JUNE 9, 2004

Dear Friends, ladies and gentlemen, 

I am honoured and proud to welcome you all to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy for this  important symposium, which confirms the crucial role of the International Task Force  in supporting, both  politically and socially, the education, remembrance and research on Holocaust. We represent here countries and organisations that share common values and accept the commitments,  principles  and  goals  of the Stockholm Declaration, which is the cornerstone of our action.

Dear friends,  

recently, the President of the Italian Republic pointed out that “peoples that have no memory of their past cannot master their future”. This is particularly true in the case of the Holocaust: to forget the past means to run the risk that coming generations may again have to face the tragedy of ethnic cleansing, if not even of genocide. Shedding light on the magnitude of the Holocaust has to be our personal  responsibility and daily task. 

Younger generations seem particularly defenceless in front of the risk of loosing memory : schools have not done all that they should to keep alive the memory of the Shoah. Whereas, following the Second World War, the vivid memories of these horrors helped to create a climate of unconditional solidarity with the Jewish communities, a gradual relaxation of vigilance has become apparent with the passage of time, with the result that unexpected opportunities have opened up for those who wish to put history under scrutiny.

For this reason, it is increasingly crucial that all stakeholders, governments, schools, non governmental organisations, make all possible efforts to advance knowledge and preserve the memory of  the Holocaust : education  at all levels should deploy all its pedagogic capabilities and address the subject in relation to the various  disciplines: literature, psychology, history, religious studies.

The Italian Parliament, without distinction as to political affiliation, has recently approved a number of guidelines urging the Government and the public administration to strengthen efforts to develop an understanding of the phenomenon of anti‑Semitism and of the history of the Holocaust, together with an awareness of the important contribution made by Italian Jews to our national history, from the struggle against fascism to the formation of the Republic. 

Italy itself feels the heavy burden of the memory of a past that is now distant but not any less painful. Internal political events led Italy between the two World Wars to contradict a tradition of tolerance dating back to ancient times. This is another reason why we are anxious today to be on the front line in the study of the Holocaust, in the understanding of prejudice and racism, in the struggle against any re-emergence of anti‑Semitism:  we are determined that  the horrors that we witnessed in the past may never again be repeated. Such willingness has often been recalled by our Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who has always reaffirmed the crucial importance of a civil society aware of the risks represented by anti-semitism, which can not be defeated without a proper understanding of the Holocaust.

To this end,  I am convinced that  the important work being done by the International Task Force for Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, fully supported by the Italian Government, provides the right context in which to promote  plans, initiatives, activities and to foster reflections upon the moral issues raised by those horrible events. In such a framework, I wish to assure you that the commitment of the Government and mine in particular will keep representing a main priority for our Country.

Thank you.