Every year on October 9 Romania pays homage to the victims of the Holocaust in
\nRomania. The date bares an important significance, because on this day in 1941
\nthe deportation of Jews from Romania was started. This dark chapter of our
\ncountry’s history preceded the legionnaire pogrom of January 1941 in Bucharest,
\nand the one in Iasi in June later that year. Nearly 80 years on, President
\nKlaus Iohannis has given the go-ahead for the creation of the first National
\nMuseum of History of the Jewish People and the Holocaust. The venue will be an
\n8,000 square-meter eight-storey building dating from the inter-war period at
\nthe heart of Bucharest, on Victory Road. The funding will be ensured by the
\nstate, via the Elie Wiesel National Institute for Holocaust Studies, as well
\nas other donations and sponsorships. President Iohannis said this museum should
\nbe a symbol of solidarity against intolerance, anti-Semitism and
\ndiscrimination. He pointed out that Jewish heritage is representative of
\nnational culture, which is why the National Museum of History of the Jewish
\nPeople and the Holocaust will be tasked with capitalizing on this heritage. The
\npresident also believes this is a project that will bring people closer
\ntogether.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
By building this museum, Romania
\nstrongly fosters the history, legacy and culture of those who have contributed
\nto the creation of our nation. You all agree the museum should be an
\ninstitution of the future, an ally of education against ignorance, a fortress
\nof solidarity and civic patriotism in the face of intolerance, anti-Semitism
\nand discrimination. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In turn, Prime Minister Viorica
\nDancila pointed out she has closely supported this initiative, arguing no
\neffort is too great in order to combat any kind of prejudice fuelling
\nanti-Semitism, racism, intolerance, xenophobia and discrimination. An
\ninternational commission headed by Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel concluded in 2004
\nthat between 280,000 and 380,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews were killed in
\nRomania and areas it controlled during the war, as an ally of Nazi Germany.
\nRomania switched sides in the war in 1944 when the Red Army assaulted the
\nBalkans. The communist regime that took the power did little to reveal the
\nhorrors of the Holocaust. Romania has only recently started to come to terms
\nwith its role in the extermination of Jews, admitting for the first time in
\n2003 that it had taken part. The new museum aims to promote the history,
\nculture and traditions of Jews in the country and highlight their contribution
\nto modernizing Romanian society.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Klaus Iohannis has signed the decree for the creation of the National Museum of History of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Romania<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":83224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[30540,39771,29000],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-83223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-elie-wiesel","tag-national-museum-of-jewish-and-holocaust-history","tag-president-klaus-iohannis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n