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Address by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon On the Anniversary of the Day of Victory over Nazi Germany/Translation |
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| 11/05/2004 |
Honorable President of the State, Mr. Moshe Katzav and Mrs. Katzav,
My Fellow Veterans, Fighters in World War II,
Mr. Speaker,
Members of Knesset,
Distinguished Delegations from Around the World,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This special session of the Knesset is convened to mark the 59th year of the victory over Nazi Germany, but the Jewish people's struggle still continues. Today, we received a painful reminder of the heavy price we are paying for the struggle to defend our country and the security of our citizens. We are fighting against a cruel and inhumane enemy, and we will not cease to strike at them wherever they may operate or hide. I offer my condolences to the families of the victims, and wish a speedy recovery to the injured and a warm embrace to the soldiers and commanders who are currently carrying out a military operation.
The victory over Nazi Germany was the most important victory ever achieved on the battlefield. It was a monumental victory, but not a happy one. David Ben-Gurion, who was in London on the day of the victory, noted in his diary -the day of the victory is sad, very sad.
It was a sad victory, for it brought to light and revealed to the world the most horrendous systematic murder which humanity has ever known, in which the Nazi machine of destruction and its cohorts in every country in Europe, annihilated six million Jews.
It was much more than a military victory, it was a moral victory -the victory of freedom and democracy over oppression and tyranny, the victory of the spirit of man and the love of man over hatred and racism, in their most dangerous and vicious forms.
A million and a half Jewish fighters fought in World War II with the Allied Armies and in the ranks of the Partisans. Half a million Jews served among the ranks of the Red Army. 550,000 served in the American Army, 120,000 in the Allied British Army, among them approximately 30,000 volunteers from the Jewish community in the land of Israel. And many thousands more served in other Allied Armies and with the Resistance all over Europe. Over a quarter million Jewish soldiers died in battle and about 200,000 were honorably decorated. Within this large number of fallen, 200,000 Jews fell while fighting with the Red Army and the Partisans.
There are endless stories of heroism about Jews in combat in Allied Armies: stories which must be told, and should be learned from. I chose a few stories. There are endless stories, and there is no way to estimate the fighters' heroism and methods of fighting. I chose a few of these examples.
For example, the story of Lazer Papernik, a fighter in the Red Army, who participated in the battle near Smolensek, of 25 ski fighters against 400 German soldiers equipped with tanks and canons. Papernik excelled in battle and after his commander's death, he took command of the remaining fighters and was the last one among them to survive. Wounded and surrounded by German soldiers, Papernik refused to surrender, and continued to hurl hand grenades at them, and with his last grenade, he blew himself up.
In the battle to defend Stalingrad, fighter David Katz stopped two tanks. After he destroyed one tank, the second tank attempted to retreat, but Katz immobilized the treads with the help of a grenade. The tank stopped, but continued to fire, and Katz thrust his bayonet into the machinegun, thereby paralyzing it. Katz was injured twice in that battle, but only after his second injury did he agree to be evacuated to the medical station.
Also among the pilots, there was no shortage of Jews pilot Lily Litvak of the Red Army airforce downed six German planes in air battles. In a dogfight with a German plane over Rostov, she was injured, but continued to fight until it was downed. After the battle, she was hospitalized for several months, but upon her release, she returned to fight until she fell in battle in the summer of 1943.
An unusual story is that of the Jewish Australian pilot, Julius Alan Cohen, who flew two British officials on a secret mission to Morocco: after they were captured he stormed the prison alone and freed them. Until the end of the war, he served in many battles, and was the youngest group air force Commander in the Australian airforce.
Stories of Jewish Commanders who led their soldiers in battle are endless: Such as General Morris Rose, the American tank division Commander who was killed in Germany one and a half months before the end of the war. General Jacob Kaiser, a Soviet Union hero, who commanded the Second Guardian Army in the Stalingrad Campaign, and the 51st Army during the warfare in Germany.
Then there's Michael Plotkin, who commanded the squadron which carried out the first Soviet air bombing over Berlin in August 1941. And Brigadier Frederick Kish who retired from the British Army in order to serve on the Zionist Histadrut directorate, returned to the army with the outbreak of the war as the Chief Engineering Officer of the 8th Army in North Africa. He was killed by a German mine in Tunisia in 1943.
Stories of heroism engender feelings of high esteem, stories of command generate deep admiration. Without a doubt, the bravery of the Jewish combatants in World War II is a source of pride and identification for us all.
Many of these veterans immigrated to Israel and a few dozen are among us here today. And of course, present are volunteers who enlisted in the land of Israel, and served on the different fronts. They are here with us. I salute them. They are worthy of every admiration and respect for their contribution to the historic victory and through their liberating the world from the Nazi threat, they paved the way to the establishment of the State of Israel. Thank you very much for that.
Members of Knesset,
Today, 59 years after the historic victory over the Third Reich, the family of nations again faces a worldwide enemy - international terror - threatening not only enlightened humanity, but also its most essential values.
As then, today too, the family of nations must determine that there is no place in its midst for countries which do not take an active part in the struggle against humanitys number one enemy. And of course, we must act with determination against those countries which sponsor terror and its murderous organizations.
The historic victory of the ninth of May will never be complete if the enlightened world does not continue to guard, in the future too, the values for which it engaged in battle. 59 years after that victory, we must continue to feel empowered by it, in the face of phenomena such as racism, xenophobia, and expressions of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
Thank you.
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