Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

POLITICS AND SOCIETY | SPEECHES   157 A “new old” hatred of Jews is rearing its ugly head: • on the right, on the left, • in some Muslim communities where integration into our values has evidently failed, • and in supposedly intellectual circles in culture and   academia, disguised as pseudo-moralistic “criticism   of Israel”. This climate poses a very real threat to Jewish people. It is unacceptable! I still have vivid memories of the late 1980s, when neo-Nazis marched inWunsiedel – barely 60 kilometres from here.   As a high-school student, I made the journey toWunsiedel to protest against those vile revenants. Even today, the memory sends a chill down my spine. It was experiences like those which drove me into politics. Because I have always known our work is far from done! Ladies and Gentlemen, On this 80th anniversary, no Allied forces will come   to our rescue. The responsibility is ours. We must defend ourselves against our enemies. We must protect the freedoms that people fought hard to achieve. We owe this to the victims. We owe this to future generations. Thank you!