The film directed by Laurent Jaoui, La Traque, was screened this Monday evening at the Mediterranean University Center. The couple, Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, were present, along with the deputy mayor Me Martine Ouaknine, the director of the Shoah Memorial Jacques Fredj, and journalist Hélène France.
As the film nears its end, the first applause is heard. Klaus Barbie was finally about to be tried for his crimes. For 12 long years, Serge and Beate Klarsfeld did everything possible to achieve justice and bring back the former head of the Lyon Gestapo to France. At the CUM, the audience stood up to acclaim and pay tribute to the couple’s exemplary fight.
“We have achieved many things, and we have drawn from our historical references the strength to act,” declared Serge Klarsfeld. By justifying their numerous actions for the recognition of the Shoah, the couple displays their determination to fight against a persistent anti-Semitism in Europe. In France, a third of hate acts are committed against Jews even though they represent 1% of the population.
About the couple, the director of the Shoah Memorial Jacques Fredj notably stated that they were a “true moral authority to which one continually turns.”
The Klarsfelds called for the defense of Europe, as a guarantor of the protection of Republic values. The exhibition “The Fights of Memory (1968-1978)” has been extended until February 14. It is a must-see at the Masséna Museum.
