Holocaust Exhibition arrived to Oulu

Holocaust exhibition arrived to Oulu, Pohjankartano school for two weeks between 4-14. of September, organized by Holocaust workgroup from many different churches. All 35 workers are voluntarily helped to make this quality program for school groups and for everbody. The exhibtion’s idea was coming from Kokkola Exodus workgroup, where through Siv Piispanen’s leadership they had the same material last november. Siv has participated earlier a Holocaust traning in Jad Vashem Museum, Jerusalem, Israel. The museum offered her great help to make the material and the knowledge about the trustful and researched facts happened during Worl War II Europe.

The local workgroup’s leader, Vesa Liljamo started the organizing of this program with his team already in this year february, and succed to invite to Oulu honered guests like Israel’s Ambassador to Finland, Dov Segev-Steinberg, who opened the exhibition, in the name of Oulu city leadership Juha Hänninen greeted the guests, the bishop of Oulu, Samuel Salmi represented Evangelical Lutheran Church and greeted the exhibition,  along with memeber of parliament Sari Essayah, who held her speech about human rights. The invited guests and audience of seminar was also greeted by Vesa Liljamo, the leader of Holocaust workgroup.

For me personally, the opening ceremony was a deeply touching gathering, because as one of the exhibition’s teacher we put our time and work to this program, and happy to see that Oulu city and many church leaders, including Evlut kirkko leaders came to honor this work and the topic. It was also a great honor to lissten Israel’s Ambassador speech and get known that he was first time in Oulu becasue of our program. It was also interesting to get know from him, that he is the son of Holocaist survivirs from Poland and Hungary, so his life is deeply attached to our topic. As a hungarian, I have special resoonsibility for programs like this, because of the happenings during war, as Hungary was the ally of Nazi Germany, and with the help of hungarian people,( my forfathers and leaders)  about 600.000 hungarian citizen, mainly jewish people were brutally murdered from my homecountry in Holocaust.

I want to say  special thanks for bishop Samuel Salmi, who warmly welcomed the Ambassador of Israel in the name of his church but also in the name of all christians in Oulu,. In his speech he confessed the mistakes of one of the church fathers, Martin Luther, whose connections with jews and writings about them were not proper. He also wished peace for Jerusalem and for all nations.

I would like to thank for Vesa Liljamo’s work and also for Oulu city and also in Pohjankartano school’s working Oulu Opisto to give space for our program and to make possible this important meeting. I hope this meeting will help the next geeneration to respect every kind of people groups, to make human rights in the right position in nordic area continously and open for Finland economical and friendship connections with the State of Israel.

I would like to also wish all the visitors peace and would like to remember through my personal memory by meeting with one of the Schindler’s survivors, Eva Ratz from Poland, last year in Jerusalem. She survived the war, she is nearly 90 years old, living in Israel. She told me her story about surviving and gave me testimony that all what happened were true. She is very funny and joyful person and when I asked that what is her message for next generations, she said: „As i had one chane in my life, all you have also only one, so be alive, live a full life, make family and kids and enjoy every day of your life!”

The Exhibiton continues to Kruunubyy in October and next year to Rovaniemi, Lappland.

Zoltán Tari