12.03.2018
Today we pay respect and mourn with the Macedonian people for those who failed to escape the Nazi machine. We must not forget this part of history and we should not let such mistakes happen again, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said at a commemorative ceremony in memory of the 7,144 deported Jews from the territory of the Republic of Macedonia 75 years ago.
Borissov is the first Bulgarian head of government to take part in the commemoration of the anniversary of the deportation to the Treblinka camp and tragic end of the Macedonian Jews. At the time of these events, Bulgaria received from Nazi Germany the right to administratively manage the territory, but not the possibility to give Bulgarian citizenship to the population on this territory . The Jews from these lands were forbidden to obtain Bulgarian citizenship and remained under the jurisdiction of the Nazi authorities.
In these most harsh times, the Bulgarian people, the Church, intellectuals, and public figures managed to save 48,000 Jews and therefore the Bulgarian people deserve great respect, Prime Minister Borissov said. “We are deeply grieved for every human life and that is why we are here today because anyone sent to the death camps should not be forgotten,” he said.
Borissov reminded of the tragedy that took place in the Balkans 20 years ago and underlined that it is for this reason that in the region “we have to build, to work together, our people should live happily and let all that remain part of history.” We the politicians bear the responsibility today that things of this kind never happen again, the Bulgarian Prime Minister said.
According to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia Zoran Zaev, the presence of his colleagues from Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of representatives of the Romanian Parliament and diplomats from other countries is indicative of the civilizational choice that has been made. “History is repeated only for those who remain blind to its lessons,” he said. Zaev pointed out that today we are remembering the lessons of the past “"to further illuminate our path to the future we have chosen together. Acceptance of differences, cooperation, and friendship are the values that we accept and support with all our deeds so that we never repeat this.”
