Prisoners testament for today´s youth

SignaturFrom Norwegian prisoners who sat in nazi concentration camps during the Second World War.
We were Norwegian prisoners in concentration camps during the Second World War.
We experienced the nazi ideology, which was based upon human contempt, discrimination and racism on our own body and it damaged our minds. This ideology led to violence and cruelty, crime against mankind and genocide.
Because our experiences must not be forgotten,
            because we owe it to our comrades who died in concentration camps to tell about their faith,
            because humankind has been shaken by war and horror over and over again even after the Second World War,   
           because we know how important it is to protect human dignity, human rights and democracy
           because we want to warn against ideologies and political systems which are based upon violence and unfair treatment of people
we have  decided to adopt this prisoners testament.

PRISONERS TESTAMENT

Values

Human worth and equality are the most important values which every society has a responsibility to protect.
We support UN ideas and the international human rights to create justice and peace in the world. Every human should live in a democracy where everyone has equal rights without being discriminated.

Means
We ask everyone to:

  • Work against discrimination, racism, repression and persecution of groups or individuals  
  • Remember  the suffering of the concentration camps prisoners, solidarity amongst prisoners and that prisoners came from many countries and different cultures
  • Work for preservation of concentration camps, so that new generations may experience that humans are capable of doing cruel and awful acts systematically. They will then have a better understanding of why it is important working against these matters.
  • To secure that education of children and youth in the society will include:

-     knowledge and reflection about the Second World War Two, crimes committed by nazis and     experiences from concentration camp prisoners.

  • human worth, equality, the international human rights and democracy as the most important values in the society
  • Individual responsibility for your own action. That every one of us has a moral responsibility for our own actions, even if orders come from institutions that possess power.

We hope that this Prisoners testament will inspire you, today’s youth to work for peace.  Only then can similar crimes which we were victims of, never happen again!


Jan Bendix Lien
Erik Loe
Karl Øksenad
Elling Kvamme
Olav Bøyum
Teodor Abrahamsen
Ivar Claussen
Arne Verling
Petter Christian Steenstrup
Bernt H. Lund
Arnstein Brekke
Blanche Major
Arnold Hammer
Knut Erik Skinnemoen
Leif Kôlner
Maria Gabrielsen
Sigurd Syvertsen
Tollef Larsson
Torstein Axelsen
Jon Fryjordet
Arnt Friisk
Karsten S Pettersen
Olav Askvik
Magnhild Bråthen