Exhibition of books, photos in memory of Holocaust victims inaugurated at Moldovan parliament

Chisinau, 16 March /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova’s parliament today inaugurated an exhibition of books and photos titled, “In Memory of the Holocaust Victims,” which shows the persecution and extermination of Jews during the World War II, including on the territory of Moldova.   

Those over 70 books displayed are from the funds of the Chisinau-based B.P. Hasdeu Municipal Library, Itic Mangher branch. The collection of photos presents materials of the archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Holocaust Memorial from Germany, the Contemporary Jewish Documentation Centre of Italy, etc.    

Attending the opening of the exhibition were Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu, Head of the European Union Delegation to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola, U.S. Ambassador to Moldova James D. Pettit, Hungarian Ambassador to Moldova Mátyás Szilágyi, MPs, ministers, diplomats, experts and civil society representatives.   

In his speech, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu said that this event gave start to cultural actions organized in Moldova in the memory of the Holocaust – a tragedy of the Jewish people, the lessons of which must be known all over the world.  

According to Candu, the progress made by Moldova to be aware of the Holocaust, the obstacles existing in terms of regulation and implementation, as well as the priorities for the next years will be discussed at a roundtable titled, Commemoration of the Holocaust in Moldova: Progress and Prospects. The event will take place on 17 March and will bring together representatives of state institutions, development partners and civil society.   

United States Ambassador to Moldova James D. Pettit said that the present exhibition represented one more step made towards the opening of a museum of the Holocaust victims in Chisinau. “These actions prove that the atrocities of the Holocaust are not forgotten and that we learn from the lessons of the past,” the American diplomat stressed.  

Attending the event, Deputy Culture Minister Igor Sarov told MOLDPRES that it is Moldova’s obligation to know the events dealing with the Holocaust and to bring them to the knowledge of everybody.   

In July 2016, Moldova’s parliament approved a declaration on the acceptance of the final report of the international commission, chaired by Elie Wiesel, on the studying of the Holocaust. The parliament also established the day of 27 January as the national day of the Holocaust victims remembrance. On 25 January 2017, the government approved an action plan on the promotion of the commemoration and studying of the Holocaust in Moldova. In last February, Moldova’s parliament hosted the launch of a book titled ”Ghetoul din Chișinău 1941-1942” (The Chisinau Ghetto 1941-1942), signed by Director of the Office for International Relations of the Washington-based Holocaust Memorial Museum Paul Shapiro.  

The exhibition is organized with the support of the Jewish Community of Moldova  and the United States Embassy in Chisinau.

(Reporter N. Roibu, editor A. Raileanu)