Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria marks the International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust

On today's memorial date - January 27, the world community pays tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. It was on this date, in 1945, when the Soviet army liberated the few survivors of the concentration camp Auschwitz (Oswiecim-Birkenau, in Poland), the atrocities of the Nazis in the death camps became public knowledge, and the liberated Auschwitz camp became a symbol of the Nazi genocide. 

60 years later, in 2005, the date was declared by the United Nations as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Then the Secretary General of the organization described the day as "an important reminder of the universally relevant lessons of the Holocaust -  this unprecedented manifestation of evil that should not simply be left in the past and passed into oblivion".

Today, this day is already observed by more and more countries, paying tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and the liberation of the most horrific Nazi death camp, Auschwitz. This year, however, the heirs of the liberators are not invited to the commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Jews in the Polish city. To AFP, the spokesman of the Auschwitz museum, Piotr Cywinski, noted that representatives of Russia were not invited to the commemoration because of its aggression against independent Ukraine.

In Sofia, the memory of the victims is being commemorated with a film week from January 26 to 31 at the Odeon cinema, which recalls in special thematic screenings the dark events of the time of Nazism. The aim of the initiative of the Organization of Jews in Bulgaria "Shalom" together with the Master of Art International Film Festival and the support of Sofia Municipality is to present to the general public the fate of various Jews during the Second World War. The free screenings present different perspectives and personal stories from Europe's not-so-distant dark past.

The date will also be marked by the representatives of the Bulgarian Anti-Fascist Union in Sofia, who will honor the victims and lay flowers and wreaths in front of the monument to the Soviet Army.





Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria's oldest stud farm preserves endangered breeds

The "Kabiyuk" horse breeding farm in the village of Konyovets is the oldest stud farm in Bulgaria, founded in 1864 by Midhat Pasha, the governor of the vilayet of Ruse, to produce horses for the Turkish army. The farm existed until the Russo-Turkish War..

published on 11/6/24 8:38 PM

New online platform helps Bulgarians returning from abroad settle more quickly back home

There is no exact statistic on the number of Bulgarians living abroad, but a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from last year indicates that around 2.8 million Bulgarians are living outside the country . According to the 2021 population census..

published on 11/6/24 12:16 PM

WWF Bulgaria is launching donation campaign "Subscribe to Nature"

The nature protection organization WWF - Bulgaria is launching a campaign entitled "Subscribe to Nature".  The disappearance of wild animals is a series in which we play the main role. In less than one human lifetime, 73% of vertebrates in..

published on 11/6/24 10:56 AM