Rolande Fichberg left Europe when he was 7 years old. From a Jewish family, persecuted by the Nazi regime, she is one of the survivors of the Holocaust, which killed 11 million people, 6 million, Jews. At 85, she watched American billionaire businessman Elon Musk reproduce regime gesture who was responsible for the death of many of his family members. For her, this can not pass unscathed.
“It was not my desire to watch an act equal to that, the survey of an arm in the sign, the apology for Nazism, since I fight so much against it. But it happens and we have to fight. And it’s good to denounce, it’s good everyone to know that it didn’t go unnoticed, that it happened and that people took up to their position, ”he said.
“We have to care about everything that happens, denounce and show our indignation.”
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 01/26/2025 – Rolande Fichberg, a survival of the Holocaust, in the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s release and in memory of the victims in the city’s palace – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
This Sunday (26), Rolande Fichberg participated in a ceremony in honor of the victims of the Nazi regime and the 80th anniversary of the release of the prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. The event, at the Palace of the City of Rio de Janeiro, marks the International Day in Memory of Holocaust victims, celebrated on Monday (27), implemented by resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), in 2005.
Auschwitz was a concentration camp network located in southern Poland in areas attached by Nazi Germany. It is considered the largest symbol of the Holocaust during World War II, between 1939 and 1945. Only Auschwitz alone were approximately 1.2 million people. In addition to Jews, minorities such as LGBTI+people, Gypsies, black people, people with disabilities, among others, were also persecuted and killed not only in Auschwitz, but also in other concentration camps.
Rolande Fichberg lived this closely. The grandmother and six uncles were arrested in Auschwitz and died either inside the concentration camp or could not survive the sequelae left. “Many died without knowing why, simply because they were Jews and more the 5 million who were not Jews and that they could often not even know why they were in this situation,” he recalls.
The event at the City Palace, under the theme 80 years later: Memory, Resistance and Hope, was a collaborative action between Councilman Flávio Valle and the Israeli Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Fierj) and with support from City Hall, and from Israeli Confederation of Brazil (CONIB). The ceremony brought together authorities, survivors of the Holocaust and its descendants, politicians and ecclesial authorities.
In a speech, the municipal secretary of culture, Lucas Padilha, also argued that nazism apologies cannot be accepted today. “On the internet, let us know exactly what symbols mean. That we never relativize a Nazi symbol in 2025, ”he said in a speech at the ceremony.
Memory preservation
FIERJ President Bruno Feigelson defended the importance of preserving the memory of the victims so that the Holocaust is not forgotten and this does not repeat anywhere in the world. He also stressed the importance of Brazil for the Jews.
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 26/01/2025 – The President of the Israeli Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Bruno Feigelson, at the time for the 80th anniversary of the release of Auschwitz and in memory of the holocaust victims Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
“Brazil entered the war and fought against the atrocity that was the axis of evil, understood there at the time by Nazi Germany, by the fascist Italy. Brazil’s participation was very important, even culminated in the release of prisoners from both Auschwitz and all the people who were being decimated there, ”he said.
He also highlighted the role of Brazil as a country that received many Jews, such as the great -grandparents themselves. “If I am here and so many other Jews have been here for many generations in Brazil and so much contributed to this country, it is because Brazil has opened the doors for us to be received.”
Also present at the Consul General Ceremony of the Federal Republic of Germany, Jan Freigang, he said that Germany assumes responsibility for the Holocaust and the preservation of memory to do this not to happen again.
“Germany reaffirms its unshakable responsibility for the rupture of civilization committed never before seen, which was the Holocaust. The memory of this rupture, its confrontation and construction of a future -oriented memory is for us a permanent task, ”he said.
According to Freigang, Germany seeks to combat any form of anti -Semitism, even disagreeing with Israel’s positions. “Our historical responsibility means that Germany will continue to defend, even in times of criticism of the Israeli government, the right of existence and the security of the State of Israel.”
He also drew attention to the current risks of the dissemination of extremist ideas and ideals and nazism apologies. “Unfortunately all this is growing, both offline and online, and online is amplified by algorithms and even powerful individuals with extremist views.”
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 01/26/2025 -The Consul General of Germany, Jan Freigang, in the 80th anniversary of the release of Auschwitz and in memory of the victims of the Holocaust – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
Struggle for justice
During the ceremony, seven candles were lit by survivors, political authorities, religious and young leaders. Ana Burszty Miranda, one of the political prey during the dictatorship in Brazil, between 1964 and 1985, which is part of the collective RJ Memory, Truth, Justice, Reparation and democracy was one of the people who lit one of the candles.
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 26/01/2025 – Ana Bursztyn Miranda speaks in the act for the 80th anniversary of the release of Auschwitz and in memory of the victims of the Holocaust – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
Like Germany, who assumes the crimes committed, Miranda defended, in speech, the need for Brazil to assume what was done during the dictatorship.
“The memory of the Holocaust, fortunately, is now consecrated because Nazism was defeated, the third Reich was condemned by historical memory. The truth appeared, the court was largely made in public courts. There are reports from survivors, books, movies, lectures, honors, like today. There are no streets and public places, it seems to me, in Germany with honors to Nazis. There was financial and moral reparation to the victims, ”he said, adding that, in relation to the dictatorship, the same is not true.
“We will normalize, let’s consider normal? Sixty years later, the 64 dictatorship is not over yet, it has not been defeated, ”he said.
