Romanian officials mark International Day of Commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust

President Klaus Iohannis and prime minister Marcel Ciolacu reaffirmed Romania’s intention to combat anti-Semitism and promote the memory of Holocaust victims with the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust.

The head of the Romanian executive attended the ceremony dedicated to the international day and the remembrance of the victims of the Bucharest anti-Jewish Legionary Pogrom at the Choral Temple, an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue in Bucharest. At the beginning of the event, there was also a wreath-laying ceremony.

“Today, we commemorate 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, a place filled with heartbreaking history and hiding unimaginable suffering and torment,” said Marcel Ciolacu.

He stressed that history should not be forgotten in order to prevent such atrocities from repeating.

“We cannot forget that history has given us people, including Romania's dictatorial leaders, who brutally and systematically sought the extermination of the Jewish population. There can be no excuses for those who cynically and coldly sent their fellow citizens to death, whom they discriminated against, humiliated, and excluded from society. We must never forget how hatred and anti-Semitism have poisoned systems and infected societies, including in Romania,” Ciolacu added, cited by Agerpres.

The prime minister also mentioned that extremism and xenophobia are increasingly present in Europe, the cradle of fundamental rights and freedoms.

“That is why, I want to reaffirm, on this occasion, the firm commitment of the Romanian Government to combat the scourge of anti-Semitism and to promote the memory of Holocaust victims. It is our duty, as authorities, to ensure that Romanian society knows and does not repeat the mistakes of history," Ciolacu further stated.

Ciolacu highlighted the role of education and praised the relationship between the government and the federation of Jewish communities in Romania. He also welcomed the release of the first Israeli hostages, among whom were two women with Romanian citizenship or descent.

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis also sent a message marking the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex of camps in 1945 and the Bucharest Pogrom in January 1941.

“The Holocaust marked the pinnacle of hatred and anti-Semitism—the culmination of a diabolical plan aimed at erasing every trace of Jewish existence," he said at the beginning of the message.