Putin says Russia will do everything "to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism, Russophobia, and other racist ideologies"
International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Mocow Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center
On January 27, a traditional ceremony dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day was held at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow. Within the framework of the event, flowers were laid at the Monument to the Heroes of Resistance in Nazi camps and ghettos. The memory of the dead was honored by the heads of diplomatic missions, representatives of traditional religious denominations, state and public figures.
The event was attended and laid flowers at the monument by the President of the STMEGI Charitable Foundation, Vice-President of the REC, Chairman of the Presidium of the Board of Trustees of FENKA German Rashbilovich Zakharyaev.
The program of the event was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp. The ceremony was led by the Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Head of the Department of Public Relations of FEOR Borukh Gorin.
Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar greeted the guests and thanked them for their participation in the Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Rabbi Lazar read a greeting to the organizers and guests of the ceremony from
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin: "The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is a mournful date of great moral, humanistic importance. In January 1945, the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp, revealing to humanity the truth about the crimes of the Nazis and their henchmen who destroyed millions of Jews, Russians, Gypsies, representatives of other nations. And we will always remember that it was the Soviet soldier who crushed this terrible, total evil, won the Victory, the greatness of which will forever remain in world history. Russian citizens are direct descendants and successors of the generation of winners. We will continue to fundamentally and harshly resist attempts to rewrite the legal, moral sentence that was handed down to the Nazi executioners and their accomplices. We will do everything to defend people's right to ethnic, linguistic, spiritual identity, to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism, Russophobia and other racist ideologies."
Berl Lazar added: "Of course, we always remember that terrible tragedy. After all, almost every Jewish family had Holocaust victims. We will always remember the feat of the Red Army soldiers who put an end to the mass murders in Auschwitz. But today, on the Day of Remembrance of those who died at the hands of the executioners, our duty is first of all to ask ourselves: has the world community learned the lessons of the Holocaust? Are there any guarantees that the tragedy will not happen again in the future? The Holocaust is terrible not only because of the number of people killed - although more than six million people died in it, every third of my people. The main thing here, the worst thing, is what made the Holocaust a truly unique tragedy in the history of mankind is ideology. The ideology that justified the genocide!"
Berl Lazar told the story of his family: "Thanks to what and by whom I even got the opportunity to be born. My mother was born in Hungary in 1941. Hungary was the closest ally of the Nazis, almost all Hungarian Jews were sent to concentration camps and killed. And my mother was saved only because there were people who, risking their own lives, saved Jews. The first was a young guy named Fred Friedman: he disguised himself as a soldier of the German army and managed to save almost a hundred Jewish families. He took my mother and her sister to Budapest with forged documents, and there they were hidden until the end of the war by a woman named Nora Vujkh. These people saved Jews doomed to death not to become famous, but simply because they were real people. After the war, they did not run to tell everyone how good and how brave they were, but silently returned to their usual work. For example, Fred Friedman's feat became known only in 1992! And when journalists asked him why he still kept everything secret, he gave the simplest answer: "Because it was only between me and the Creator!" Whoever loves God will love all his creations. As our Rebbe said: "The key to any morality, to any dignity, the key to peace and coexistence is faith and love for God Almighty, Who sees all our deeds and hears all our words. Human life is a precious gift from the Creator, and it is the duty of mankind to strictly protect it."
President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, Director General of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Rabbi Alexander Boroda: "For 20 years around the world, January 27 is the Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is not only a separate date for grief, but also another reason to thank the Soviet soldiers who liberated Auschwitz. Today, 80 years later, the memory of the dead, the rescued, liberators, medical workers is alive - those who helped people a year earlier after the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad and those who were able to use this experience to save the lives of many rescued prisoners. It is especially important that Holocaust Remembrance Day has received an international status. This is a big step towards the establishment of the world historical recognition of the Catastrophe, it is evidence that people keep the memory of the terrible events of the war, that they are in solidarity in the fight against genocide, the recognition of the value of human life. This is evidence that the feat of Soviet citizens has not been forgotten decades later and continues to respond with gratitude in the hearts of new generations. The participation of the heads of diplomatic missions in the ceremony at the Jewish Museum once again emphasizes this recognition."
The guests of the ceremony watched a documentary film dedicated to the liberation of the camps through the eyes of liberators and prisoners who remember the day of liberation and the liberators.
After the screening of the documentary, the official part took place, at which the ambassadors of Israel, Poland, Germany, Great Britain and the United States spoke. The official part of the event was opened by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center Vadim Moshkovich. The ceremony was attended by: Head of the Department for Interaction with Religious Organizations of the Office of the President of Russia Evgeny Eremin, Head of the FADN of Russia Igor Barinov, Representative of the Federation Council Nikolai Zhuravlev, members of the Board of Trustees Viktor Vekselberg and Alexander Klyachin, President of the STMEGI Foundation, Vice-President of the REC, representatives of the diplomatic missions of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Argentina, New Zealand, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Armenia, Slovenia, Portugal, Sweden, Macedonia, India, Ireland, Canada and Luxembourg, the European Union and the Apostolic Nunciature, as well as other public, religious and political figures.
Simone Halperin, Ambassador of the State of Israel, said at the ceremony:
"This is really a special year, 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz camp. We are grateful to the Red Army and remember the role played by all allies in liberating the world from Nazism. Our role today, Russians and Americans, and in Germany, and in Poland, and in Japan, and in the Philippines, and around the world, is to pass this lesson on - people are people. Let them think differently, believe differently. But there is no reason for them to lose their lives because they are different."
President of the STMEGI Foundation German Zakharyaev: "We thank the peoples of the world for uniting, defeating Nazism and saving the Jewish people from complete destruction. First of all, the memory of the Holocaust is the work of the Jews themselves, because we are God's chosen people, we must fulfill the commandments as much as possible, follow the laws of the Torah. We always follow and obey the laws of the Almighty, only then there will be no repetition of the Holocaust, and we will be able to preserve the memory of it."
Count Alexander von Lambsdorf, Ambassador of Germany: "Ladies and gentlemen, the scar of the Holocaust will forever remain in the heart of mankind. This scar remains a warning to all of us. A warning about what can happen when hatred is allowed to fester, when people are deprived of dignity. Memory is not just a look back, but also a lesson from the past and the right conclusions for our present and future."
Krzysztof Krajewski, Ambassador of Poland: "We must preserve the memory of the Holocaust not only as a historical fact, but also as a warning. This memory should be the basis of our fight against all forms of hatred, discrimination and intolerance. Only in this way can we build a world in which such tragedies will never happen again."
Nigel Casey, Ambassador of Great Britain: "It is a great honor for me to speak today on behalf of the British government and people, as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet army in January 1945. The British government makes it clear that anti-Semitism and all forms of religious hatred have no place in our society, and we are intensifying our efforts to do everything possible to eradicate them both at home and around the world."
Lynn Marie Tracy, U.S. Ambassador: "Today, in places of memory around the world, we remember millions of Holocaust victims. We honor those who survived and thank all the liberators. We light candles, we read their names, enlighten ourselves. And we honor our common commitment to human freedom and justice. We share the truth about these little things. And sharing the truth, we stand together with the Jewish people and all the victims, their families and loved ones."
In conclusion, Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar read a memorial prayer and, according to tradition, in memory of the six million dead Jews, the People's Artist of the Russian Federation, saved by a child during the Holocaust, Kama Ginkas, Israeli Ambassador Simone Halperin, German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorf, U.S. Ambassador Lynn Marie Tracy, Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Kraewski and British Ambassador Nigel Tracy lit six memorial candles. All those present were also able to light the candles of memory.
