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Vice-President of the Republic of South Africa visiting the Memorial
Kgalema Motlanthe, Vice-President of the Republic of South Africa, visited the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum on March 15. It was a part of his official visit to Poland. The guest was welcomed by Anna Skrzypińska, Deputy director of the Museum.
Vice-President Motlanthe visited a part of the Museum exhibition: Block 4 dedicated to extermination of Jews executed by the Germans in Auschwitz, Block 5, where personal items stolen from the victims are displayed, as well as the crematorium and gas chamber in the former Auschwitz I camp. In front of the so-called Death Wall in the courtyard of block 11, where executions were carried out, the guest laid a wreath, thus paying tribute to all victims of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp. He also signed in the guest book of the Museum.
"The universal message coming from this place is for the societies which should not cease to be vigilant and which should watch for abusing of power and for the greed of people who want to make themselves rich at the expense of someone else's life," said Vice-President Motlanthe.
"Everything here is deeply moving. The hair shaved from the heads of the victims, children's clothing and shoes — it really shatters your heart into pieces. Protection of such sites is extremely important, as they continuously remind us where the dark side of man can lead. And yet, it is love, not hate, that should be the most important for people," he added.
During the second part of his visit, Kgalema Motlanthe visited the Auschwitz II-Birkenau former camp, including the unloading ramp where Germans performed selections of the Jews deported to the camp, and the ruins of gas chamber and crematorium II. He also lit a candle at the monument of the camp victims.
