Photo credit: kremlin.ru
Vladimir Putin took part in the commemorative event held as part of the Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism international forum at the Yad Vashem memorial complex, Embassy of Russia in the USA website reports.
The international forum held in Jerusalem on January 22–23 was timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp and International Holocaust Remembrance Day marked on January 27. On this day in 1945, Soviet troops, which made a crucial contribution to the Victory over Nazi Germany, liberated Auschwitz.
The Yad Vashem memorial complex underwent major renovations in 2005. A new display features documents and exhibits dedicated to the life of European Jews on the eve of World War II and the inhuman suffering inflicted upon them by the Nazis.
"We mourn all the victims of the Nazis, including the six million Jews tortured in ghettos and death camps and killed cruelly during raids. Forty percent of them were citizens of the Soviet Union, so the Holocaust has always been a deep wound for us, a tragedy we will always remember," said Russian President. "We paid a price no nation could even imagine in their worst dreams: a toll of 27 million deaths. We will never forget this. Unfortunately, today the memory of war and its lessons and legacy often fall subject to the immediate political situation. This is completely unacceptable. It is the duty of current and future politicians, state and public figures to protect the good name of the living and fallen heroes, civilians and victims of the Nazis and their allies," Putin underlined.
At the end of the speech Russian President wished peace, prosperity and all the best to all the guests and the citizens of Israel.
As we reported before, Russian president opened the monument to the victims of the Leningrad siege in Jerusalem. He cut a symbolic ribbon together with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, January 23, during his visit to Israel. The monument was installed in one of the parks of the city center. A nine-meter column made of brass is crowned with a cast part of bronze, which symbolizes the flame of a candle. A text about the Leningrad siege in Russian, English and Hebrew is written on the plate at the foot of the column. The design of the monument was created in collaboration with St. Petersburg and Israeli architects.
