Prime Minister Yair Lapid and a delegation of Holocaust survivors, today, met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Wannsee Villa.
Prime Minister Lapid and Holocaust survivors Pnina Katzir, Avraham Roth, Shoshana Treister, Yisrael Mila and Zvi Gil and their families first greeted German Chancellor Scholz on the plaza of the Wannsee Villa. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor then spoke with the Holocaust survivors at the place where the "Final Solution" was decided on.
Prime Minister Lapid told Chancellor Scholz that he very much appreciated the courage and respect he showed in listening to the chilling testimonies of the Holocaust survivors. The Prime Minister emphasized that he was convinced that under the Chancellor's leadership, Germany would fight antisemitism with zero tolerance.
Prime Minister Lapid also told Chancellor Scholz that he found the event very moving, given that he is the son of a Holocaust survivor and that Holocaust survivors and their families were in attendance.
The Holocaust survivors thanked Prime Minister Lapid and Chancellor Scholz for the special visit. Each one told their story and that of their family during the Holocaust, as well as the story of their aliyah to Israel and the family they raised there. They emphasized the importance of instilling the memory of the Holocaust in the younger generations of Jews, Germans and the entire world.
Prime Minister Lapid:
"An hour ago, I entered the office of the Chancellor and was greeted by an honor guard of German soldiers who saluted the Jewish state. I thought about the first time my father saw a German soldier.
He was almost 13. In March 1944, he was lying in the big bed in his parents' house. His father was next to him, because my grandmother was in Budapest. At 5 o'clock in the morning, there was a knock on the door. A German soldier entered. He asked, 'Where is Dr. Lampel?', my grandfather. My grandfather got up. My great-grandmother, Hermina, who spoke German, approached the soldier, got down on her knees—she was already an old woman – grabbed his boots and pleaded, 'Bitte, bitte.’ You have a mother too.'
The soldier said nothing. My grandfather went and got dressed, took his bag, walked over to my father, lifted the blanket, and my father was crying. He said to him, 'My son, I will either see you or I won't.' He never saw him again.
Today, the German Chancellor, the German military and the people of Germany came here, to the Wannsee Villa, the place where the bureaucracy of evil was crafted, to honor you and ask for your forgiveness. We came here to tell them we won.
My grandfather Bela died in a concentration camp, but my father survived and raised a family, and they established a country. That country is proud to be here today. I thank you, my friend, for coming here with us today. It takes a fair amount of moral courage to do so. Thank you for coming."