Report on the ceremony awarding the Righteous medal to Pastor Pierre Gagnier and his wife Hélène
January 18, 2012
Speech by Elad Ratson (Director of Public Relations and Communication at the Embassy of Israel)
Madam Mayor,
Deputy Mayor,
President of the association “Enfants et Amis Abadi”,
Delegate of the French Committee for Yad Vashem,
Director General of the French Committee for Yad Vashem,
Dear friends,
Sixty-six years ago, André Malraux told us that true civilisation… the part of humanity that the camps had sought to destroy, had triumphed over true barbarity.
At the time of their liberation, the camp survivors knew days of happiness but also of sadness. As they emerged from hell, many of their comrades were being led away by the SS and were dying on the roads of Germany. The forced evacuations and death marches sought to eliminate the witnesses of this abomination.
In January 2007, France paid a vibrant tribute to the Righteous Among the Nations. Jacques Chirac, then President of the Republic, and Simone Veil, President of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, brought the Righteous of France into the heart of the Panthéon. That day, the courage and nobility of soul of these humble and discreet heroes were recognised at their true worth.
During the Second World War, while darkness reigned over Europe, the Righteous of France had the courage to defy unjust authority. At the risk of their own lives and those of their families, they put their soul, their heart and their strength into saving Jews. Some died trying to preserve life.
Very often, the Righteous consider what they did to be natural. Sometimes they even say that they could have done more. But through their actions, they not only saved innocent people, they also saved human dignity and the honour of France.
In the Talmud it is written: “Whoever saves one life saves the entire world.”
Dear friends, the Jewish people do not forget. They forget neither the executioners and their collaborators, nor the Righteous, exceptional people, lights among the nations.
For the memory of the dead who have no grave, for the honour of the Righteous Among the Nations, but also to safeguard our future, it is our duty to keep alive the memory of this human tragedy. Nothing good is built on forgetting or on lies, and memory is essential if humanity is to build its future.
The Righteous Among the Nations medal is the highest distinction of my country. It is neither a reward nor a decoration, but simply a token of eternal gratitude and recognition.
On behalf of the State of Israel and by virtue of the powers vested in me, I have the great honour of presenting the Righteous Among the Nations medal, posthumously, to Pastor Gagnier and his wife Hélène Gagnier for saving the lives of Georges Isserlis, Michel and Françoise Picard and Denise Rouire.
Dear Righteous, we are forever grateful to you for what you accomplished at the risk of your lives. You give us the strength to believe in humanity.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Elad Ratson
(Director of Public Relations and Communication at the Embassy of Israel)