Skopje, 12 March 2023 (MIA) - A Procession of the Living starting from the Museum of the City of Skopje and ending at Imperial Tobacco launched Sunday the observance of the 80th anniversary from the Holocaust of the Macedonian Jews under the Government's auspices, organized by the Jewish Community in North Macedonia and the Holocaust Fund under slogan "11 March 1943 - Never Again".

President Stevo Pendarovski, Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi, chair of the Israeli Knesset's North Macedonia friendship group Hamad Amar, Ernest Herzog of the World Jewish Congress, Maria Bagdasarova of the European Jewish Congress, and Macedonian Jewish Community president Pepo Levi are set to address the event.

The commemoration will continue with a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of the deported Jews and the WWII fallen fighters at Skopje's Butel cemetery.

A concert will also be held at the National Opera and Ballet this evening, including addresses by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, Israeli Ambassador Simona Frankel, Macedonian Jewish Community president Pepo Levi and Andrew Baker of the American Jewish Congress.

More than six million Jews were killed during World War II. In the Treblinka death camp in occupied Poland alone, about 900,000 women, men and children were killed in about a year, including 7,144 Macedonian Jews from Skopje, Bitola and Shtip, representing as much as 98% of the Macedonian Jewish community.