Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews from Macedonia

Every year the small Jewish Community of Macedonia gathers on March 11 to commemorate the 7,148 Jews who had been deported to the concentration camp of Treblinka on this day in 1943 - about 98% of the Jewish population in Macedonia at that time.

This year a number of different events took place. The heart of the events was the official opening of a Memorial Center in Skopje for the Jewish Holocaust victims from Macedonia. This center is located in the former Jewish quarter.

Hundreds of guests from Macedonia and from abroad participated in it - among them the political leaders of Macedonia and Israel's Vice-President Moshe Ya’alon. With their presence they affirmed that such an atrocity must never be forgotten nor repeated - neither in Macedonia nor in the neighboring countries where anti-Semitism and denial of the Holocaust are resurgent.

On this occasion a religious leadership forum was also organized; it included the heads of the five faith communities: Macedonian Orthodox Church, Islamic faith community, Catholic Church, United Methodist Church and the Jewish community. At the same time there was a youth forum where young people had the opportunity to discuss the importance of this center.

Source: UMC Macedonia / www.balkanalysis.com
Date: March 21, 2011