Educational Forum "The Holocaust and Human Rights"

The Global Embassy of Activists for Peace (GEAP) in México, under the program “Educating to Remember” organized the Educational Forum “The Holocausts and Human Rights”. The event took place at the Meritorious Veracruz Normal School of the Xalapa city in Veracruz. 

The Forum was developed with the objective of strengthening, through an integral education, the teaching of ethical, moral and spiritual principles and values; the reflection and practice of actions of respect for universal rights and human dignity; based on the study of the history of the Holocaust and other genocides.

More than 1.450 people, between directors, teachers and students from different schools participated in the event, which was based on the subject of the Holocaust, persecution and systematic murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime, where their human rights were violated.

Authorities Present:

Bernardo Téllez, director of Religious Affairs of the Secretary of Government, representing the constitutional governor of the State, Miguel Yunes; for the municipality of Jilotepec, Lourdes Lara, municipal president; and Fortino Santiago, Director of Education, were present during the forum. 

Geiser Caso, represented the State Commission of Human Rights (SCHR), delegated by Namiko Matzumoto; Víctor Delfín, director of the Veracruz Youth Institute; and Concepción Flores, magistrate and rector of the Polytechnic University of Veracruz, also attended.

Also present were Luis Opatowski Goldberg, Holocaust survivor; Salvador Martínez, former director of the Faculty of Law of the University of Veracruz; and Francisco Guerra, national coordinator of GEAP in Mexico.

Lectures about the Holocaust:

In his presentation Salvador Martínez developed the topic: "The power of education for peace". During his address he referred to a few words of a victim of the Jewish Holocaust; Edith Stein, who said:

"All educational work that tries to form men is accompanied by a certain conception of man, his position in the world and his mission in life, and what practical possibilities are offered to treat him properly."

Geiser Caso, based his lecture on "The Holocaust and Human Rights," commented that human rights had never been trampled on as they were in the last century, and that has been the worst atrocity.

"The Holocaust refers, in Greek, to the sacrifice by fire; however, from the perspective of humanity and in the wake of the atrocious events of World War II, they give this conception to the Holocaust, to every death during and after the war, "said Caso.

"Youth, a fertile field for the seed of peace to be planted," was the topic that Victor Delfin addressed, who explained:

"There is an organization that looks after the interests of young people and there is an institute for young people, because youth is 30% of the population."

Delfín concluded by talking about Human Rights in the sense of participation.

To close the expositions, Holocaust survivor, Luis Opatowski Goldberg, narrated the events that happened during World War II (1939 - 1945). Afterwards, attendees were invited to visit the Holocaust photo gallery.