Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

DESCENDANTS | SPEECHES   147 Descendants Dear Survivors, Relatives and Honoured Guests, I would like to start by sharing a poem written by my   grandfather, Dr Paul Husarek: Our dead* Grey shadows are we, ethereal and fleeting, Victims of a world where evil had its meeting, A world that set on murder and killing, Trampled human rights with cruelty willing, Tormented people for thoughts they dared hold, Guardians of freedom, defiant and bold! Grey shadows are we and once have been! We were humans, felt pain and sorrow, Had children, found joy, hoped for tomorrow, Saw sunlight sparkle through skies so wide, And flowers blooming by our side, Sang, spoke and dined with ease, Lived, laboured, struggled as humans please… Grey shadows are we now and once have been! And we died… to keep life’s flame alive! For what did we give our breath, survive? Were we not killed because we bore Peace, freedom, justice to your door? Did we not remain faithful to ourselves, to you? Shadows are we, yet we live in you! Shadows? Dead? Have they perished? Gone from the world? Forgotten, vanquished? Can the dead speak? Stammer words? Gather like living human herds? Dead are silent… Are the dead mute? Hear them speak: * Original source (in German): Dachau Memorial, DaA 6217, 4506 “You dwell among the living here. You are guardians of the goods we hold dear, Those things that make life precious and true. You are keepers, watchers, tasked to pursue, Endeavour, strive, to ensure we are not fools, That ne’er again will die a thousand souls, Hundreds of thousands, as we fell! Dead we are, and yet we live!” The dead live… and your strange silence Resounds, sings like distant violins, Fills the world with swelling chorales, Telling of our dying, our final calls, And reminding us, freedom must unite With human rights, justice and light. Those who plunged the world in night and mist, Who held murder, horror in their fists, Are defeated… yet their victims, our dead, Have called upon us with a sacred thread, To give meaning to their final breath: With freedom crown life, honour the dead, Who once were here, yet live in faith! As I read these words, I invite everyone to reflect:What do you feel? Can you sense the weight of history that has brought us together here today? My grandfather’s poem reaches deep into our souls, urging us to keep his memory alive and embrace our responsibility. David Husarek Act of remembrance for the victims of  National Socialism at Dachau Palace  23 January 2025 ©Bavarian State Parliament Photo Archive / M. Balk