The lessons the past teaches us and the tribute we pay to the millions of Holocaust victims impose upon us the moral duty to avert such tragedies in the future. Today we do not simply recall the macabre periods in European history, but we also vow our support for our common future, based on the ideals of justice and the respect for human rights and democracy, President Rosen Plevneliev said in Budapest. In the Holocaust Memorial Center in the Hungarian capital the head of state opened an exhibition titled “Difficult Choice of Great Importance: the Fate of the Bulgarian Jews,” dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the salvation of the Bulgarian Jews during the Second World War. The Memorial Center is a national institution established in 1999 and is among the few organizations of this kind in the world, which are dedicated to the Holocaust problems.
The Bulgarian President emphasized before the guests of the exhibition that our memory of the tragedy and loss of millions of human lives should also make us remember and respect the outstanding examples of courage and morality which reaffirm our faith in the traditional human virtues and in our ability to make the world better for the future generations. “Therefore I would like to thank you for the provided opportunity to share our extraordinary history, which the Bulgarian people are so proud of,” Rosen Plevneliev said.
During the Second World War Bulgaria did for its Jewish community what no other European country did – it saved the lives of all its citizens of Jewish origin, the head of state recalled in his speech. Despite the pressure exerted in 1943 to deport 50,000 Bulgarian Jews, the civil society in Bulgaria did not allow this to happen. This moral position of the Bulgarian people was confirmed by the actions taken by the Bulgarian consuls in Europe, who issued thousands of transit visas to Jews who were not Bulgarian citizens, and thus enabled them to immigrate to Palestine and to escape from the horror of the Holocaust. “We should remember that if any human being, any institution and any state made efforts, the world can become better and more united in its diversity,” President Rosen Plevneliev further added.
The salvation of the Jewish community during the Second World War is a sign and example of civic courage and the strength of morality, Ilan Mor, Israeli ambassador in Hungary said during the opening ceremony of the exhibition. Representatives of the diplomatic circles and institutions in Hungary, as well as those of the Jewish and Bulgarian communities in Hungary and of NGOs visited the exposition.