Ladies and Gentlemen, 

I greet you today at a place of profound sorrow. This land bears witness to unimaginable suffering. Here, the human dignity of my fellow citizens was utterly disregarded. With deep sorrow in my heart, I remember the thousands of Hungarian Jews, and all those fellow human beings, who fell victim to the inhuman Nazi dictatorship in this region. The lives that were destroyed cannot be forgotten, nor can they ever be replaced.

This memorial centre pays worthy tribute to the victims and provides a space for remembrance that deserves attention. Gratitude and recognition are due to all those who were involved in initiating and creating this memorial site. Thank you for faithfully preserving the memory of the victims.

Here we can see exactly what human evil is capable of. This place warns us of the consequences of allowing ideologies that are hostile to God and humanity to gain ground. Such atrocities must never happen again! We must never again allow people to be persecuted and stigmatised because of their origins! We must never again allow anyone’s human dignity to be violated! We must never allow communities to be discriminated against or have their rights taken away!

Ladies and gentlemen!

We must not give in to anti-Semitism under any pressure. After the horrors of the 20th century, it should be obvious and clear in 21st-century Europe that anti-Semitism must not be tolerated.

Hungary values its Jewish communities. Today, my country is one of the safest in the world, where everyone can freely practice their religion, uphold their traditions, celebrate, and create. No Jewish person in Hungary needs to fear attacks or acts of violence.
Ladies and gentlemen!

A firm commitment is needed to uphold what is good and to oppose what is evil. For against darkness, there is always light; against inhumanity, there is always humanity. Both Germans and Hungarians have confronted their pasts, and, hopefully, we have 
all learned from them. Every occasion that calls us to remembrance also offers an opportunity to strengthen our cooperation.

Mutual understanding and respect, appreciation of each other's communities, maintaining and strengthening our relations are the right path between two nations that have had close ties for a thousand years. The German and Hungarian peoples have long been, and continue to be, connected by many ties.

Those among us who always seek connection deserve our respect. Those who, despite all differences and opposing opinions, seek points of agreement, who recognise time and again the power of community building and the damage that isolation can cause. They not only notice how many threads can bind one country or one people to another, but they also find and see these connections. They truly serve the future.

I am a committed advocate of strengthening Hungarian-German relations, maintaining good relations between our two countries and the friendship between our two peoples. We are important to each other, and we must never give that up. Just as we can remember the tragedies of the past together, we can also build the future together.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Rede von Herrn Staatspräsident Dr. Tamás Sulyok im Gedenkzentrum „Waldlager” in Mühldorf am Inn