CONCERT TO MARK
START OF WORLD WAR II
Left photo, program cover: 'Never again war!', Arthur Elser.
Pope Benedict XVI and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano were the guests of honor tonight, along with the participants of the current Synodal Assembly for Africa, at a concert to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II.
An initiative of the Youth against War movement, the concert at the Auditorium on Via della Conciliazione was performed by the Inter-Regionales Jugendssymphonie Orchester (IRO) as part of the project "1939-2009: 70 years since the start of the Second World War".
The musical program featured compositions by Gustav Mahler and Felix Mendlssohn Bartholdy. Two Lieder, Urlicht and
Irdisches leben, sung by South African mexxo-soprano Michelle Breedt, from Mahler's
Des Knaben Wunderhorn [The boy's magic horn) cycle, followed the fourth movement of the composer's Symphony No. 5. Mendelssohn's Fourth Symphony (Italian) concluded the concert.
Both composers were Jewish by birth and experienced strong anti-Semitism all their life. Both were later baptized - Mendelssohn as a Protestant, Mahler as a Catholic. Under the Nazi regime, their music was forbidden.
The program also featured readings by German actor Klaus Maria Brandauer Breedt reciting some pieces from German literature: texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Berthold Brecht, and Paul Celan, as well as two poems written by children who were interned in the concentration camp of Theresienstadt.
Concert sponsors were the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Vatican Commission for Religious Relationships with Judaism, the German embassy to the Holy See, and the KulturForum Europeo of Mainau (Germany).
Additionally, the International Jewish Committee for Inter-religious Consultations agreed to be a patron, with its member organizations - American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith International, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Israel Jewish Council on Inter-Religious Relations, Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbinical Council of America, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, World Jewish Congress.
Pope hails fall of Berlin Wall
ROME, Oct. 8 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI said the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago shows that freedom cannot be "repressed and stifled" as he attended a youth anti-war concert in Rome on Thursday.
"The fall of the Wall has shown that the fundamental freedoms that give meaning to human life cannot be repressed and stifled," the 82-year-old German pontiff said.
"The fall of the Berlin Wall is a powerful symbol of the end of totalitarian communist regimes of Eastern Europe," he said.
On November 9, Germany marks 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the country's reunification.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has invited all European Union leaders to attend the ceremonies to mark the anniversary.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are among those expected in Berlin for the festivities, set to climax in a "freedom party" at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
One world leader not likely to attend is US President Barack Obama, who will be in Asia for a summit. The United States will likely be represented by former president Bill Clinton.
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's remarks, delivered in Italian and German:
REMARKS OF BENEDICT XVI
AFTER THE CONCERT
Mr. President of the Italian Republic,
Cardinals and Venerated Synodal Fathers,
Ambassadors, Ladies and gentlemen:
I accepted with pleasure the invitation to attend this "Youth against War concert - 70 years after the start of World War II", jointly promoted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Vatican Commission for Religious Relationships with Judaism, the German embassy to the Holy See, and the KulturForum Europeo of Mainau (Germany), with the patronage of the International Jewish Committee for Inter-Religious Consultations.
I extend my greeting and gratitude to all the promoters and organizers. In particular, I thank Cardinal Walter Kasper for his kind words in their behalf.
I extend a deferential greeting to the President of the Italian REpublic and his kind spouse, and thank them for their presence.
Utilizing the universal language of music, this initiative encourages young people to construct together the future of the world, inspired by the values of peace and brotherhood among all men.
I greet the cardinals, the Synodal fathers, the distinguished members of the diplomatic corps to the Holy See, the sponsors, and everyone present.
In German, he said:
I sincerely thank the young musicians from 15 (German) states who have established together the Inter-Regionalen Jugend-Sinfonieorchester, and their conductor Jochem Hochstenbach, for this outstanding performance.
Ny thanks go likewise to soloist Michelle Breedt for her expressive singing and to Professor Klaus Maria Brandauer for his vivid interpretation of literary texts.
And I thank all who made this evening possible: the International Jewish Committee for Inter-Religious Consultations (IJCIC) as the Patron of this concert, along with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the German embassy to the Holy See, and the KulturForum Europeo of Mainau (Germany) as promoters.
He resumed in Italian:
Dear friends, This evening brings back to our memory the tragedy of the Second World War, a sad page in history for its violence and inhumanity which caused the deaths of millions, leaving the victors divided, with a Europe to reconstruct.
The war initiated by National Socialism struck down so many innocent populations of Europe and other continents, and with the tragedy of the Shoah, wounded most of all the Jewish people, object of programmed extermination.
And yet, appeals for reasonableness and for peace did not fail to be raised from many sides.
Here from Rome came the heartfelt appeal of my venerated predecessor Pius XII. In his radiomessage on August 24, 1939 - precisely with the imminence of the war that was about to begin - he proclaimed decisively: "Nothing is lost with peace. Everything can be lost with war" (cfr AAS, XXXI, 1939, p. 334).
Unfortunately, no one could stop that vast catastrophe: the logic of selfishness and violence prevailed inexorably. Recalling those events should be a warning, especially for the new generations, nver to fall again into the tempation of war.
As Cardinal Kasper recalled, this year we also commemorate a second significant anniversary: twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, eloquent symbol of the end of the totalitarian Communist regimes in eastern Europe.
"The fall of the Wall," John Paul II wrote, "like the collapse of dangerous models and an oppressive ideology, have demonstrated that fundamental freedoms, which give significance to human life, cannot be repressed and suffocated for long" (cfr Insegnamenti, XIII,1, 1990, p. 1389).
Europe and the entire world have a thirst for freedom and peace! We must build together a true civilization, not based on force, but as "the fruit of victory over ourselves, over the powers of injustice, selfishness and hatred, which can end up disfiguring man (cfr ibid., XII,2,1989, p. 379).
As Cardinal Kasper pointed out, the ecumenical movement, which found a catalyst in the second world war, can contribuite to building such a civilization together with the Jews and all believers.
May God bless us and grant mankind the gift of his peace. Dear friends, thank you once again for your presence.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/10/2009 00:26]