#Crif - Commemoration of the Vel d'Hiv : "As 74 years ago, we refuse to kneel before barbarism"

The French national ceremony of commemoration of the Vel d'Hiv was held on July 17, 2016, at the memorial of the Vel d'Hiv, quai de Grenelle in Paris, as part of the National Day in memory of the victims of racist crimes by the french State and homage to the Righteous of France. The ceremony was, as every year, jointly organized by the Ministry of Defense - State Secretariat for Veterans Affairs - and the Crif Committee of remembrance.

 

The French Government was represented by Jean-Vincent Place, State Secretary to the Prime Minister, in charge of State Reform and Simplification.

 

Among those present at the ceremony : Francis Kalifat, President of Crif ; Roger Cukierman, former President of Crif and vice President of the World Jewish Congress ; Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris; Didier Bariani, vice Chairman of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France ; Aliza Bin-Noun, French Ambassador of Israel, Haim Korsia, Chief Rabbi of France ; Serge Klarsfeld, President of FFDJF and his wife Beate ; Leila Aichi, Senator of Paris; Jean-Michel Rosenfeld, deputy Mayor of the 20th arrondissement of Paris and Holocaust survivor ; Pierre-Francois Veil, Chairman of Yad Vashem France ; Philippe Allouche, CEO of the Holocaust Remembering Foundation.

 

On 16 and 17 July 1942, 13 152 Jews were arrested by French police. 1 129 men, 2 916 women and 4 115 children were confined in the sports stadium 'Velodrome d'Hiver'. Childless couples and singles (1 989 men and 3 003 women) were interned at the Drancy camp.

 

From July 19 to 22, families of the Vel d'Hiv were transported to the camps of Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande. Adults and adolescents were deported first. Brutally separated from their parents, about 3 000 children were left behind, in abject misery. They were transferred to Drancy and then deported between August 17 and 31, 1942. None of them returned.

 

After a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the bombing in Nice and the traditional prayers in memory of the deportees, there were deposits of flowers. Then, the Marseillaise was sung.

 

Several interventions succeeded by Mr. Esrail, President of the Auschwitz deportees 'Amicale' ; Pierre-Francois Veil, Chairman of Yad Vashem France ; Jessie Chapuis, great grand-daughter of Righteous Among the Nations ; Francis Kalifat, President of Crif, and Jean-Vincent Place, Secretary of State.

 

The President of Crif presented the condolences of the institution to the families of the victims of islamist barbarism and its healing wishes to the many injured.

 

"In this time of national mourning, I express our solidarity and sorrow to all those who have been affected by the despicable attack which struck in Nice, in the evening of July 14. What remains of humanity, in a man whose ultimate goal is to kill as many men, women and children as he can, in the name of an ideology? ", asked Francis Kalifat. "This question, that torments all democracies today, echoes in our ceremony," he insisted.

 

"I think it is essential to see these challenges as what they are, to find the most correct answers, relying in particular on education against hatred and obscurantism. The school should fulfill its rule against anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia and it should scrupulously ensure educational content of textbooks. It is essential that young people will be better protected from anti-Semitic content on the Internet and on social networks, to help them produce their own antibodies to reject these contents, "continued the President of Crif, adding," the Republic protects us. I want to pay tribute to the army and to the national Police who provide everyday security at the sites and events in the life of french Judaism. We know that these means are not unlimited, as we know we cannot really live peacefully, as our security is threatened. The only remedy against hatred must be zero tolerance "... Read more.