Strasbourg, 20.04.2007 – “I wish I could have said that Europe is free of anti-semitism, free of hatred and intolerance, but we all know that this is not yet the case. The work of collective memory therefore is all the more fundamental to prevent a repetition of history,” stressed the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) René van der Linden.

He welcomed the idea of several PACE members to organise a special event in the Council of Europe in order to honour the “Righteous” who at the risk of their lives had helped Jews during World War II.

The President also announced that PACE will give its support and patronage to the Third International Forum of the World Holocaust Forum (Germany, November 2008) which will mark 70 years since the Kristallnacht. At a meeting with the Forum’s President, Moshe Kantor, the initiative to implement a pan-European educational programme aimed at facilitating dialogue and co-operation between civilisations, strengthening tolerance in Europe and fostering respect for history among young people was also discussed.