Transcript: European elections 2024 video

I've kept this in the depths of my heart for years.
I think about it every morning, but I don't talk about it.

A message for my grandchild.
And for the rest of Europe.
PASS IT ON

Well, you know, Robin, I should not be here today.
I should have died on 17 June 1940.

On the 21st, I got a phone call that we were being occupied by the army, something that we thought was impossible.
It was such a shock.

How do you feel about what has happened here in Prague?

We hope that we will have again, the freedom and our democracy.

I was eleven when the war began and twelve when the soldiers came.
They were everywhere.
I went downstairs with my fruit bowl and out into the garden.
My mother was killed while lying on top of me to protect me.
You know, when you're twelve years old and you see your mother died to protect you, you never forget.

In Timisoara, young people were shot in front of the cathedral.

My father was sent to Auschwitz and murdered there.
My mother gave me away knowing that she might never see me again.
I had no uncles and aunts, I thought that was strange.
I had no grandparents either.
Everyone had grandparents. 
I had no one.

You should never take democracy for granted.
You should always support it and protect it.

On 17th November, when it all began, there was a big student demonstration.
Police officers attacked demonstrators, they beat them up.
That was the moment when the revolution began.

After gaining independence, Latvia became a free country.
People were free to express their thoughts on democracy.

When the Berlin Wall fell, it was the emancipation of all of Europe.

Dear Suzanne, dearest Suus.
I'm glad you're the way you are, and I love you for it.

You know I was born in a year when the world was on fire.
Something like that has a huge impact on your life.
Fortunately, you were born in a time of peace and prosperity.

Always remember that we didn’t always have freedom and democracy and that we can lose them very quickly.

You have to fight for it, you always have to be vigilant and fight for it.

If I could leave you with one message before I go: Live democracy.
Listen to one another.

Take good care of democracy, when I'm not here anymore.

It's up to me. 
It's up to us and our generation.
In Europe.

USE YOUR VOTE. 
OR OTHERS WILL DECIDE FOR YOU. 
EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 6-9 JUNE 2024. 

The European Parliament wishes to thank everyone participating in this documentary for passing on their message.