Valtiovarainministeri Riikka Purran puhe luovutettujen juutalaisten muistotilaisuudessa

Valtiovarainministeri Riikka Purra puhui Suomesta luovutettujen juutalaisten muistotilaisuudessa Helsingissä keskiviikkona 6. marraskuuta.

Dear Distinguished Guests,

We gather here today to commemorate the eight Jewish refugees who were handed over by the Finnish State Police to the German Gestapo on the 6th of November 1942. Only one of these deported persons survived until the end of the war. Seven others perished as victims of the German death camps. It’s often said that in Finland Jews were protected during the war, as Finland didn’t have any antisemitic legislation in place and Finnish Jews fought alongside their Christian countrymen at the front. This, however, does not mean there was no antisemitic sentiment in the country – antisemitism was commonplace all over Europe in the early 20th century. 

Finland in the late 1930s was very lukewarm to receiving Jewish refugees who were fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany. Cooperation with German authorities by Finnish officials who had anti-Jewish biases made it possible for Finland to hand over eight innocent Jews to their German persecutors. It is the duty of the Finnish state to protect Jewish life in Finland and make sure that the dark chapters of the 1930s and 1940s will never be repeated.

One year ago, the Jewish people met their darkest day since the Holocaust when a heinous and cowardly terrorist attack by Hamas claimed the lives of 1,200 innocent men, women and children. Hamas is not a normal political force with whom you can negotiate in good faith, but a criminal organisation, which is determined to exterminate the Jewish people and statehood. Israel has the legitimate right to defend the integrity and freedom of its people. At the same time the humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians must be guaranteed.

Jewish culture has for centuries enriched European civilization in the arts, sciences and high culture. Hence, one can speak of the Judeo-Christian identity of Europe. However, it is not uncommon that people are unfamiliar with the huge contribution of the Jewish people to Europe. The international media, which doesn’t always cover Israel in an objective manner, and especially conspiracy theories circling on social media platforms, are fuelling negative opinions towards the Jewish people. It also has to be voiced clearly that, through international migration of people to Europe, we have imported thoughts and ideologies from countries where antisemitism or so-called antizionism are legitimate political opinions. Antisemitism cannot be tolerated irrespective of the perpetrator’s background. 

The government has introduced new legislation according to which Holocaust denial will be criminalised. This year, Finland for the first time observed the 27th of January as Holocaust Remembrance Day in accordance with international practices. The government is also determined not to allow such circumstances to develop in Finland that have been seen in some European countries, where Jewish people fear for their lives every day. Furthermore, the constitutionally guaranteed right to demonstrate does not give anyone a free pass to preach hatred and violence against Jews.

Even though the world has experienced terrible crimes against humanity during the decades since the Second World War, the Holocaust should be treated as a singular event. Never before or since has a single country created such sophisticated machinery to exterminate the lives of a particular group of people. Regrettably, Finland also played a part in this terrible crime against the Jewish people. Never again can we allow such evil to prevail in Europe or in any other part of the world.