Center “Alef” and students joined the World Initiative #WEREMEMBER
“To remember, in order not repeat,” said the high school students from Burgas, who joined the international initiative of the World Jewish Congress “#Wе Remember” with a general picture. This event was organized by the Center for Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation “Alef” in the Cultural Center “Sea Casino”, dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day – January 27th.
On the eve of the commemorative day, in which day 74 years ago the survivors of the Auschwitz death camp were released, there were gathered youths from the Mathematical High School “Acad. Nikola Obreshkov “, Professional High School of Commerce, German High School” Goethe ” and High School for Foreign Languages “Vasil Levski”, as well as citizens, public figures and journalists. For the first time in Burgas, the documentary film “The Life of Irena Sendler” was shown in front of them. The tape recreates the true story of an ordinary Polish woman who saved over 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. The documentary movie has caused a very strong impact on young people, some of whom saw a human tragedy of this magnitude for the first time.
The event was a joined initiative of “Alef” and the Polish Institute in Sofia, implemented with the support of Burgas Municipality.
“If we forget, then we are accomplices,” says Elie Wiesel, the author of “Night”, the book that told the world about the Holocaust. “If we remain indifferent, we also become accomplices,” paraphrased his words Elka Vassileva, representative of Center “Alef”, during the talk after the event. She emphasized the need for humanity to mark the memories of Holocaust victims with a remembrance day. “We are witnesses how the language of hatred is raising a voice. Everyday there are vandal manifestations and violence over the weak ones, no matter what ethnicity they belong to. This day, apart from just a memory, is also a warning that the obscure periods known from the past are not impossible to be today! Recalling the Holocaust is a way to see how far such racist ideologies can go, “she said.
The letter from Alberta Alkalay, president of Center “Alef”, in which she paid special attention to the Jewish saviors, was also very interesting for the students.
“People like Irena Sendler, who cast aside their own well-being, careers, health, life in the name of helping and escaping from death, the different, the unknown, are a special race of humans, with the instinct of preserving others, righteous, superhuman with over-morals.
Today, when we grieve for about 6 million Jews, of whom more than 1 million innocent children burned in death cameras just because they are born Jews, when we recall the greatest dehumanization and tragedy in human history the Holocaust, the feat of those people who have opposed fear and death deserves our gratitude and they deserve to be remembered, ” she wrote.
The film about Irena Seldler and the talk after it provoked the participants in the commemorative event to think about what had happened. The tear-filled eyes were a proof that the message “To remember, in order not repeat ” has reached the right place.
With the general photo published in the social media, Burgas joines the annual campaign #WeRemember to combat anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred, genocide and xenophobia. This is how the message will be spread, which means that the terror will never repeat again.