Skopje, 26 January 2024 (MIA) - Let us not forget the crimes of the Holocaust so that it never repeats again. The moment for prevention is now. January 27 is a date we should remember just as we should remember the memory of the suffering of Jewish people during the Holocaust and the dark side of modern history, highlighted an event marking January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Friday.

MFA State Secretary Filip Tosevski said our democracies value the freedom of expression, which, unfortunately, is sometimes misused and misunderstood, and even today some people make mistakes by distorting historical facts about World War II, and even worse, by denying the Holocaust.

"Such attitudes are unable to take root in North Macedonia. If we ask what this claim is based on, the answer becomes clear. Ninety-eight percent of the Jewish population here experienced the worst during the fascist occupation in 1943. A total of 7,144 Jewish children, women and men were deported from 'Monopol', the present tobacco factory, to Treblinka extermination camp in occupied Poland. Despite the fact that the number of Jewish people here is smaller in comparison to other ethnic communities, they are still respected and represent an important part of our multiethnic and multicultural mosaic," Tosevski stressed.

Israeli Ambassador Simona Frankel said that 78 years passed since January 27, 1945 and October 7, 2023.

"These dates deserve our full respect and I am assured this will continue in the future. The fact that we are here while the war on Gaza is still raging, and while there are still 136 hostages being held, tortured and sexually abused by Hamas, I am unable to talk about Auschwitz without calling for their immediate release," Frankel said.

Croatian Ambassador Nives Tiganj, in the capacity of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) chair, stressed that the Holocaust, an unimaginable tragedy, is a warning and obligation for all of us to strengthen our societies to strongly oppose any form of discrimination and intolerance.

"Educating our youth must be of key importance in this because only knowledge and awareness of historical horrors, especially the Holocaust, can teach future generations about mutual respect and understanding of diversity and inclusion. It is our duty and obligation to preserve the memory of the victims and the systematic expulsion, genocide and suffering of the Jewish people, without forgetting the expulsion of the Roma people and other victims of the Nazi regime," Tiganj noted.

Deputy-president of the Jewish Community in North Macedonia, Radojka Helman-Denkovska, stated this is a day of painful memories of the Holocaust victims.

"This is a day when we will not remain silent, although it is difficult to speak, it is more difficult to remain silent. Today is a sad day, a day when we remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including the Macedonian Jewish population of 7,144 people. This lesson from the past teaches us that we should preserve humanity in each of us. Unfortunately, today we are paying the price of the unlearned lesson from World War II," pointed out Helman Denkovska. ssh/ik/

Photo: MIA