Page 143 - Centrum Dialogu im. Marka Edelmana. Edelman. The Man

‘I feel awkward speaking to you. I’m
standing here alone, I’m standing here
by chance, as is probably the case
throughout my life. Probably the universe

also emerged by chance. (...) There is
nothingness behind me. The nothingness
into which hundreds of thousands of

people perished, and I used to see them
off to the train carriages. I have no right
to speak on their behalf, because I don’t
know whether they died with hatred or
forgave their torturers. And now nobody

will ever know. But it’s my duty to make
sure that the memory of them doesn’t
vanish. I know that the memory of those

women, children, old and young people,
who disappeared into nothingness, who
were murdered without any sense or
reason, is necessary. I know that the
memory of them is necessary (…)’.

Marek
Edelman