Political leaders from both sides come together to open Melbourne Holocaust Museum
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to “denounce” all forms of anti-Semitism in Australia as leaders from both sides of politics come together to open the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
Victoria
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered a passionate promise to the Jewish community that Australia will “denounce” all forms of anti-Semitism.
Mr Albanese officially opened the refurbished Holocaust Museum in Elsternwick on Wednesday in front of a packed auditorium of Jewish community leaders as well as Premier Jacinta Allan and leader of the opposition Peter Dutton.
After reflecting on the horrors of the holocaust, the Prime Minister said Australia must “reject” the rise in anti-Semitism since the escalation of the conflict in Gaza.
“Since the atrocities of the terrorist acts conducted by Hamas on October 7, Jewish Australians have been bearing a pain you should never have had to bear again,” Mr Albanese said.
“You are feeling fear, anxious that the long shadows of the past have crept into the present.
“That should not be happening in a land that offered refuge then and embraces you now.
“Anti-Semitism is on the rise … Australia will always denounce it and reject it utterly just as we do all forms of racism.”
The museum has renovated one of its buildings and has opened two new exhibitions, which will complement the array of holocaust survivors who speak to students and visitors daily.
Premier Jacinta Allan said the new museum will help better educate Victorians about the “stories of survivors from this horrible chapter in human history”.
“It honours the memory of the six million Jewish victims. It honours the lives of survivors and a legacy we have a duty to see live on,” she said.
Ms Allan also acknowledged the “deep grief” felt across the Jewish community during the conflict with Hamas.
“I want to acknowledge the deep grief that many in the Jewish community are feeling following the terrorist invasion by Hamas on October 7,” she said.
“The date that saw the single largest loss of Jewish life since the holocaust itself.”
In his address to the room, Opposition leader Peter Dutton described the “hateful thoughts and behaviours” directed towards the Jewish community in recent weeks as similar to the lead up to the holocaust.
“We stand here today in the wake of the barbarity visited upon Israel on 7 October, we stand here having been filled through TV screens by hate fuelled mobs marching through democratic cities calling for the slaughter of Jews,” he said.
“We stand here in the aftermath of obscene and unfathomable acts of anti-Semitism on our own shores and in the context of these events the opening of this museum is even more poignant.
“We’re witnessing an unmasking of the same hateful thoughts and behaviours that lead to the holocaust.
“Perhaps naively we thought our century … would be immune from the anti-Semitism of the last century.”
Mr Albanese said he was moved as he toured the museum, acknowledging the significant contribution the Jewish community have made to the state and country.
“It strikes me that as you go around this magnificent museum you hear the voices of six million people who were murdered and the voices of those who have survived,” Mr Albanese added.
“The fact that holocaust survivors continue to educate young people is what this museum is about is making sure that this will continue for decades ahead.
“This museum stands because we must never forget the holocaust.
“The holocaust became part of our own nation’s story when some 9000 Jewish refugees found asylum from Central Europe in Australia before the outbreak of World War 2.
“We consider how much that generation has contributed to the story modern Australia.
“Then consider the contribution that generations of Jews have made to Melbourne, the city that is home to the highest per capita population of holocaust survivors outside Israel.”
Holocaust survivor Dr Henry Ekert, who migrated to Australia in 1949 after escaping the Nazis from Poland, said the anti-Semitic scenes in Melbourne has “worried” him.
“It hasn’t made me afraid because I refuse to be afraid again,”
“It has made me angry, very angry because it’s based on half truths and a perception of the conflict between Israel and Hamas … the charter of Hamas is to wipe out 9 million people which is exactly the same charter that Hitler had in his book Mein Kampf.”
Dr Ekert said he has been dealing with anti-Semitism since the Nazis invaded Poland when he was a child.
“When the Nazis came to my part of Poland in 1941 I was sentenced to death at five years old simply for being Jewish,” he said.
“I saw the most atrocious murder of a boy I was playing with and I avoided that fate because I could run faster than the little boy.”
Melbourne Holocaust Museum chief executive Jayne Josen said it was a “very emotional day” to open the new museum.
“I’m immensely proud of what we’ve been able to do, especially considering the challenges of the last few years,” she said.
The museum building was rebuilt and has two new exhibitions called “Everyone has a name” and “Hidden: Seven children saved”.
The museum is open on Tuesdays – Thursdays and Sundays.
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