Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We should be deeply concerned about the growth in right-wing extremism, in Europe and in this country. ASIO tells us that 50 per cent of its time is now spent dealing with the threat of fascist groups. For me, this is a personal issue. Today I want to pay tribute to a great Australian, Mr Garry Fabian, who has recently been awarded the German Order of Merit by the Minister-President of Baden-Wurttemberg, Herr Winfried Kretschmann. Garry is a German-born Holocaust survivor who has been an Australian citizen for the past 70 years. I am proud to be his son-in-law. Like millions of European Jews, other minorities and opponents of Germany's fascist regime during the dark years from 1933 to 1945, Garry was deprived of citizenship. His human rights were routinely violated, and his boyhood was spent in a concentration camp. But, unlike the millions who died in the camps, Garry was fortunate to survive and to start a new life on the other side of the world. Since then he has worked tirelessly to rebuild understanding and to promote reconciliation with the people of his birth country.

Born Gerhard Fabian in Stuttgart, Germany, on 11 January 1934, Garry's early years were spent moving from place to place with his family to avoid persecution under the Nuremberg Laws. In 1935 the family moved to Bodenbach, in Czechoslovakia, and later to Prague, after the German invasion in 1938. Like so many other refugees, they carried false documents and had to move every few weeks to avoid detection. Life was hard, but the worst was yet to come. In November 1942, Garry and his family were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto. Although called a ghetto, it was actually a concentration camp. Theresienstadt was not officially a death camp, like Auschwitz. But there was plenty of death as infectious diseases such as typhoid spread rapidly through the overcrowded barracks. The prisoners suffered malnutrition, exhaustion from harsh working conditions, and brutal treatment by the guards. Most of the inmates were sent on to death camps. As a small child in these unsanitary conditions, Garry endured, in succession, measles, chickenpox and whooping cough but somehow recovered from them all. Both his parents also survived, but his grandparents and numerous other relatives were murdered.

In May 1945, Theresienstadt was liberated by the Soviet Army. Of the 150,000 children who entered that ghetto, Garry was one of the 150 who survived. By Garry's account, luck played a large part in the family's survival. Garry's father was in charge of the medical supply store and was classified as an essential worker. But other 'essential' workers were sent to death camps, despite their classification. In 1947, the Fabians were able to leave the horrors of Europe behind and they emigrated to Australia. Despite huge gaps in his education, and with minimal English, Garry attended school. He gained a junior technical certificate and undertook an electrical apprenticeship. In 1952, Garry, having officially changed his name from Gerhard, became an Australian citizen, and in 1956 he joined the Royal Australian Navy to complete his national service.

Now 87, Garry has contributed much to his adopted home as a proud Australian. As well as working in electrical sales services, he fulfilled his dream of tertiary education by returning to study in his 50s. He gained both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts. He has always been active in his community. He has spent countless hours on school councils and on the committees of service organisations, like the Jewish social service organisation B'nai B'rith. He continues to work as a volunteer guide at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, and he lectures at the University of the Third Age. He has two daughters and five grandchildren; this is particularly significant to me because I married his daughter Carole.

Garry's story of resilience and of rebuilding a once-shattered life is familiar among the migrant stories that make up our national narrative. What makes Garry unusual is his commitment to reconciliation. Despite the trauma that he suffered under the Nazis, he has returned to Germany several times in the past 30 years. His early trips were not comfortable for him, but over time he has met many new generations of Germans who have a strong commitment to understanding their history. Garry has developed a relationship with a foundation in his birth town of Stuttgart known as the Geisserstrasse 7, or 7 Geisser Street. The foundation is dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of racism and fascism. Its name comes from the address of a hostel for refugees that was burnt down in an arson attack.

This foundation has helped highlight Garry's personal story. He has appeared in a film about his experience on German public television, and he's appeared in German newspapers. His autobiography, A Look Back Over My Shoulder, was translated into German. He has been on speaking tours to schools, colleges and community groups. In fact, I've had the great pleasure of being with Garry at one of his town hall meetings. In Braunschweig, he met history professor Dr Herbert Scheibe, a former trade union official and SPD political activist with an interest in the treatment of unionists and socialists under the Nazi regime. This has led to more speaking engagements. Garry has spared no detail in sharing the story of his experiences with his—mostly young—German audiences. His message has always been very clear:

I don't blame your generation for the crimes of another. This could have happened anywhere if the conditions were right.

We are all responsible for ensuring that hatred, racism and discrimination at its most deadly are not allowed to flourish ever again.

In 2011, Garry applied to have his German citizenship restored. That happened within weeks. It is significant that German Jews are now accepting citizenship that was so infamously stripped from them, starting from 1933. Garry's message of acceptance for all races, religions and creeds and his willingness to return to a land that had treated him so badly have led to the award that he has now received.

Garry's story is not only about the past. It is vital for all of us today. It is a warning about what can happen when the foundations of both liberal democracy and social democracy falter. In 1930s Germany, Jews and communists were blamed for all of society's ills. Now, populist leaders around the world target immigrants, Muslims and others in the same way. Garry Fabian, I congratulate you on receiving this prestigious award. It honours you, your family and all who are willing to learn from the past to avoid repeating it. I wish to thank Garry's grandson, Seamus Carr, for his assistance in preparing these speaking notes.