Dachau – ESI at the Lichtbrücke Film Festival on defending human rights in Europe

21 December 2025
Dachau concentration camp. Photo: flickr/Herald Post
Dachau concentration camp. Photo: flickr/Herald Post

ESI’s Gerald Knaus gave a speech at the film festival Lichtbrücke in Dachau, Bavaria. The festival is focused on human rights and seeks to be a powerful symbol of democracy in a place associated with one of humanity's worst crimes.

Gerald began his presentation by looking at the tremendous progress that has been made in Europe since the horrific violence of World War Two. He noted that countries such as Denmark, which once saw continual conflict, are now among the happiest in the world and small countries such as Luxemburg no longer need fear their larger German neighbours. Human rights laws have been firmly anchored in independent, trans-national courts.

Yet, Gerald, noted, this progress is at risk. Much like authoritarian nationalists in the past, despots such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin want to undermine the European project and replace it with national empires. Already this has led to violence and war on a scale not seen in Europe since World War Two. To prevent a return to the past, a united Europe must take pride in its liberal accomplishments and recommit to the ideals of integration and mutual protection.