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Rosen Plevneliev: We should not Let the Memory about the Holocaust Slip Away Together with the Last Surviving Witnesses

“The crimes of Nazism should not be forgotten. We cannot let the memory of the Holocaust just slip away with the last surviving witnesses,” President Rosen Plevneliev said at the session of the Heads of State within the 4th International "Let My People Live!" Forum in Prague. The event is dedicated to the commemorating the victims of the Holocaust during World War II and was held in the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague.

In his statement the Bulgarian President emphasized that unless European societies learn the lessons of the past, they will keep making the same mistakes. “The big issue about the victims of totalitarianism is particularly important not only for me, but also for the Bulgarian people,” Rosen Plevneliev said.

The President said that by paying tribute to the victims of the holocaust, a message of uniting all peoples in the world is conveyed and every leader is responsible for avoiding such a tragedy in the future. “When we pay tribute to the dead and hear the survivor stories, we should ask how the civilized world allowed that to happen,” the Head of State pointed out. Rosen Plevneliev was adamant that such a large-scale tragedy cannot be explained only by pinpointing the initiators and perpetrators of the mass homicides. “The responsibility should also be shared by those who remained indifferent, believing that the events did not concern them,” the President emphasized.

Rosen Plevneliev recalled the words of gratitude to the Bulgarian people which were uttered by former Israeli President Shimon Peres at the opening of an exhibition in the European Parliament, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews during World War II two years ago: “Better economic crisis than moral catastrophe, better economic problems than historic shame.” The Head of State recalled that then in his statement, Shimon Peres described the Bulgarian people as modest yet truly heroic as they gave the world an unprecedented example of courage and humanity when they made the moral choice to resist Nazism, the worst evil in history.

Before the participants in the forum, Plevneliev emphasized that in the most macabre years of World War II, Bulgaria rescued its entire 50,000-strong Jewish community and voiced his regret that our country could not do the same for the Jews in parts of Northern Greece and Yugoslavia who were not Bulgarian citizens. "We deeply grieve their death, as we do all the victims of the Holocaust, who will always be remembered," the Head of State said.

“We should not forget that in every society there is always someone who prefers violence to words and there will always be fanatics and extremists who try to justify the crimes they have committed using the name of God,” the President further said. The Head of State was adamant that the brutal homicides of innocent people cannot be justified with religious beliefs and the life of every human being is invaluable, no matter whether they are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or followers of other religions. He noted that the cruel attack in Paris provoked a
wave of international solidarity and today the citizens of Europe openly voice their resolution to defend inviolability and dignity, freedom and human life, the Bulgarian Head of State emphasized.

President Plevneliev called on the participants in the forum to stand united against terrorism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, and pointed out that this night, as part of the campaign of the Jewish organizations, the lights in the offices of the Bulgarian President's Administration will stay on as a symbol of support for all people in Europe who are concerned about their safety today. “Although this is a symbolic act, it shows that even the least effort is sufficient to chase away darkness and raise hope and cast light,” the Head of State said.

Even the worst evil can be averted if the people, irrespective of the religious and ethnic identity, unite and firmly say “no” to hatred, the President further said and recalled the words of Lassana Bathily, who rescued people in the Paris hostage crisis this month, as saying: "We are brothers. It does not matter if you are Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. We are all in the same boat and we need to help each other in order to cope."

Rosen Plevneliev emphasized that today in the “heart” of the Bulgarian capital Sofia there are temples of different religions - an Orthodox church, a Catholic church, a Muslim mosque, and a Jewish synagogue located very close to each other. "They exist side by side in peace, which is a remarkable example of tolerance, wisdom, and respect for the other," the president said and recalled that what world we will live in depends on the deeds of all of us.

The Prague forum is attended by Czech President Milos Zeman, European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Israel's Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, and European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor.

Later today, the President and other European heads of state and government will attend a “Silence March” in Poland which will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.