Inauguration d’une exposition consacrée aux « Justes parmi les nations » [uk]

Cette exposition organisée sous l’égide de l’Ambassade d’Israël en Ukraine et inaugurée par le secrétaire d’État auprès du ministère des Affaires étrangères ukrainien, Andriï Zaïats, rend hommage à ceux qui, au péril de leur vie, ont aidé des Juifs pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

Discours de l’Ambassadrice de France en Ukraine, Mme Isabelle Dumont

The title “Righteous Among the Nations” is a valued recognition and an issue of memory. This is also a message for the future – the denial of fatality and the need to fight against barbarity.
The Righteous had many different faces : officials, men of religion, simple people. Among them were diplomats, including my compatriot, Albert Routier, who was at that time Honorary Consul of Turkey in Lyon. For what he has done, as many other Righteous, and for the risks they have incurred, we have the duty to honor their memory. By doing so, we reiterate our strong commitment, in all circumstances, to humanistic values over violence, hatred and barbarity.
But in this regard, we have another collective duty : a honest and objective analysis of our own responsibilities, the refusal to hide conveniently behind the Nazi occupiers. Here I would like to say few words on the French experience on this specific matter.
In 1995, the French President, Jacques Chirac, officially recognized France’s shared responsibility for the deportation of Jews from France during WW2 : “These black hours will stain our history forever and are an insult to our history and to our traditions. Indeed, criminal madness of the occupants was supported by the French people and by the state of France”. Since then, this position has been endorsed by all French leaders. I will be honest (with you) : this confrontation with our own past and our responsibilities wasn’t an easy process and it took time. However, it was mandatory, out of respect for the memory of those who died, in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes and the same weaknesses.
This requirement also concerns present times. Unfortunately, Jewish community in France is still facing a wave of anti-Semitism. That is why France put in place a strong legal framework against racism and xenophobia. This political will is in particular based on the deep conviction that anti-Semitism is not only a problem for Jews ; it is a problem for all of us and our entire society.