KRAKOW –The event “Young Europeans for a World without Violence” began Thursday at the site of the infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz.

 The young people, from central and eastern European countries, include 300 from Ukraine and Russia, where the message of peace is especially pertinent given the current conflict.

 The conference is now in its fourth year, and is organised by the international Catholic Community of Sant’Egidio. The movement has been active in Eastern Europe for 20 years, where they aim to work with the weakest in society to promote a culture of solidarity and dialogue.

 The organisers’ aim is that the young people “will find in the memory of the Second World War and the Holocaust, the reasons for a peaceful future in a Europe injured by war. Amongst them also are young people from Ukraine and Russia, united by their common desire and search for peace.” They also hope that by travelling to Auschwitz the young people will be able to reflect on the instances of racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism which are still prevalent in Europe today.

 As part of the conference the young people will be addressed by Holocaust survivors Rita Prigmore and Mordechai Peled.  Prigmore, from Würzburg, Germany, was a victim of Nazi medical experiments, whilst Peled, a Romanian Jew, is a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

 On Friday, whilst visiting the camp, the young people will take part in a ceremony to include a moment’s silence and the laying of garlands, followed by the recital of an appeal for peace in various languages.