They would go back to their ancient homeland, the one they dreamed of, and spoke of, for 2,000 years. They walked away from Bergen-Belsen and never looked back.
Within five years, these DP camps disappeared. Today, people don’t even know they existed. Because Jews refused to be Displaced Persons, they refused to be victims.
There is something else: Jews all over the world helped their fellow Jews get back on their feet. They were never used as political pawns.
Much of what happened here was due to the tireless efforts of the Jewish leader of the DP Camp, Josef Rosensaft, who insisted at the outset that the survivors be treated with the utmost respect by their liberators.
In 1946, Josef and Dr. Haddassah Rosensaft, a young dentist who helped save 149 children in the terrible winter of 1944-45, were married here. Their son, Menachem Rosensaft, lawyer, scholar and my friend was born right here in 1948 and is here with us today.
There is an old Zionist slogan: “If you will it, it is no dream.” Here at Bergen-Belsen, the Jewish victims of Nazi atrocities willed themselves back to life, and it was no dream.
From the ashes of this terrible place, the Jewish people rose up and moved on. But tragically, seventy years later, the world is not moving on; it is moving backward.
Inconceivably, we appear to be descending into the same, dangerous hell where we found ourselves before. In 2015, we see anti-Semitism rising in Europe. Once again, Anti-Semites twist the truth, they deny the important contributions Jews make to society – any society.
The fact is, wherever Jews are allowed to live freely, those countries prosper.
Jews win Nobel prizes. Jews cure diseases. Jews build. They don’t tear down!
Anti-Semites tear down. Anti-Semites destroy. They create nothing. They save no one.
Today, seventy years after this camp was liberated, we hear the same anti-Semitic lies. Today, a Jewish boy wearing a yarmulke cannot walk down the street in Paris or London or Copenhagen without fearing for his life.
Right wing neo-Nazi groups are winning seats in Parliament in Hungary and Greece. Iranian leaders repeatedly promise to wipe Israel from the pages of time.
Seventy years ago, Jews learned the hard way that when someone says they want to kill you, you better take them seriously. We’ve gone down this same road within my lifetime. And we are standing on the result.
To be here at Bergen-Belsen and shout against the past while doing nothing about the present is not just wrong, it is outrageous and it is immoral. But there is a big difference between 2015 and the past.
Today, there is a vibrant and powerful Jewish State of Israel that has proven again and again its capacity to defend itself and Jews everywhere. And there is a strong and active World Jewish Congress that will not let these threats go unchallenged.
To all the people here today who survived: We are all so proud of you. You have upheld the highest traditions of Judaism. Many years ago, you were confronted with the worst things imaginable and you walked out of this terrible place with dignity.
The lives you have led are examples the entire world should follow. You have done more than your share.
So when you leave this place one last time, know this: There is a younger generation of Jews that are committed to making sure that the Jewish people never fall victim to this kind of evil again. We look up to you and we find inspiration.
Just as you never let us down, we will not let you down. I will not let you down. That is my solemn promise that I make to you today. We will not let you down.