Skopje, 27 January 2023 (MIA) – International Holocaust Remembrance Day-January 27 was marked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with an exhibit titled “To me there’s no Other Choice” on Friday.

The MFA said the event began with a minute of silence to honor the victims who lost their lives only for being Jews. Foreign Miniter Bujar Osmani gave the opening address and emphasized the importance to remember the Holocaust, which must never repeat and the need to learn the lessons it has taught people.

“Jews paid the biggest price of the Nazi ideology. Today, we remember the 6 million Jews who did not survive the Holocaust, but despite the number of casualties, they have won! Am Yisrael Chai can be heard throughout the world, and it means, “the people of Israel lives”. Their victory is our victory over a programmed and systemic evil, but it is also a warning: never, to anyone, nowhere ever again. That’s why January 27 is deeply embedded in our memory. It’s more than just a memory, it’s a testament to the future,” said FM Osmani and added that North Macedonia will preserve the memory of the Holocaust as a country proud of its multiethnic and multicultural society, where every citizen feels at home, regardless of name, origin, language or faith.

The memory of the 6 million murdered Jews, he added, including 7,144 of our own compatriots who will be mentioned again on March 11, at the 80-year anniversary of their deportation to Treblinka, will be preserved.

United States Ambassador Angela Aggeler, Swedish Ambassador Ami Larsson, Israeli Ambassador Simona Frankel and President of the Jewish Community Pepo Levi also addressed the occasion.

The marking of January 27 ended with an exhibit titled “To me there’s no Other Choice”, a contribution of the Swedish Embassy in Skopje, attended by ambassadors and other representatives of the diplomatic corps, the Jewish community, state institutions and the academic community. The exhibition is a story by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved numerous Jewish lives during WWII in Hungary.

As a member of IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance), North Macedonia remembers all victims from this dark pages in humanity’s history, so that it is never forgotten and hopefully never again repeated, reads the press release. dk/ik/