Looking into the Abyss of Evil

Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission

It is particularly moving, for me, to be here today. It is moving, first of all, on a personal level, as a woman, as a human being. In a place like this, we are forced to face one of the great Unthinkables of human nature. The abyss of evil. The fact that human beings like us, 77 years ago, were capable of such cruelty.

Primo Levi wrote that the first time he was beaten up by Nazi soldiers, here in Fossoli (Italy), his main feeling was not pain or sadness. He was astonished that another man was beating him in cold blood, without anger. The Nazi soldier's actions were not moved by anger. They were part of a scripted plan to eliminate millions of human beings, because of their ethnicity, because of their ideas, because of their religion, because of their sexual orientation. It was pure, senseless evil. I know that many of you here lost a loved one in the massacre of Cibeno or in death camps. I know that one of you was still in her mother's womb when her father got killed.

The victims of Cibeno were stolen from you because they chose to fight against Fascism and Nazism. They chose to fight for freedom and for democracy. So today, we do not just look into the abyss of evil. We also commemorate the courage of your parents and grandparents, partisans and dissidents. We remember their love for freedom, their belief in a better tomorrow. Europe is built on their sacrifice. They made us free. Their values are our values, too. The Resistance, their resistance, contributed to saving Italy and all of Europe, including my country, Germany.

Today, it is particularly moving for me to be here also as a European of German nationality. It was a German soldier who ordered to kill your parents and grandparents. This is a deep guilt in my country's history. A crime that we must always acknowledge and remember. Nazism and Fascism brought death and destruction upon all of Europe. The Resistance brought liberty back for all of us, Italians and Germans alike. I know that I owe my own freedom to people like your parents and your grandparents.

So today I want to honour the memory of all those who fought for our liberation. It is also thanks to their sacrifice that a peaceful and democratic Europe was finally born. Fossoli's prisoners never stopped dreaming of a better future. And the future's name was Europe. We know this from the testimonies of survivors. In their secret conversations, when their warders could not hear, some of them came up with the idea of a united continent. Because only a united Europe could be peaceful. They came from different stories and backgrounds. They belonged to different political parties. They were Christians and Jews. Believers and non-believers. But they all fought for the same cause: the liberation from Nazism and Fascism, and a peaceful future for Europe. They were united in diversity.

So the Mayor is right when he says that the idea of Europe was born here, too. And today, the European Union pays tribute to some of its most unknown founding fathers. The dream of a peaceful and united Europe has been achieved. War inside the European Union is today unthinkable. But there is more. Instead of fighting each other, as we did for centuries, we, Europeans, are now helping each other in the face of adversity.

The Italian government has put together a solid recovery plan, with investments and reforms, and Europe is now financing it with almost EUR 200 billion. The first funds, raised by the European Union, have reached Italy earlier this month. In the Union we have built we lift each other up in times of need. It is a Union of peace, it is a Union of solidarity. Yet, our Union is far from perfect. And every day we must ask ourselves: are we being true to Europe's founding values? And we must act if it is not the case.

As Europeans, we cannot accept that European Jews do not feel safe in their homes and synagogues. We cannot accept that free media and universities come under attack. We cannot accept discrimination against people of colour, against LGBTIQ people, or any sort of discrimination. If we want to be faithful to the values that inspired your parents and grandparents – the heroes of the Resistance – then we must make those values live in the present days. We must make human dignity, freedom, democracy and equality true for all people in Europe, and beyond. This is Europe's promise. And it requires constant commitment from all of us. It calls for us to keep vigilant, so that it will not happen – never again.

Let me conclude with a word about this – our duty to keep vigilant. One month ago, an artist of Italian and German origins arrived here in Fossoli after walking all the way from Buchenwald. A march of 900 kilometres. All along the way, she wore a mask, whose eyes were closed. The message is clear. We must look our past in the eyes if we want to shape a better future and present. And today I can tell you: Europe's eyes are wide open. We remember. Because we owe it to our parents, your parents and grandparents. And we owe it to our children.

Grazie e viva l’Europa.

* Speech given by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, on the occasion of her visit to Fossoli to commemorate the 77^th anniversary of the massacre of 67 prisoners detained in Fossoli’s concentration camp, committed by the German occupation army on 11 July 1944.