MINSK, 27 January (BelTA) – Belarus holds sacred the memory of the Holocaust victims, Larisa Belskaya, the head of Directorate for Multilateral Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said when reading out a message from Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei in a ceremony marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, BelTA has learned.
“Belarus has more than 500 monuments to those who died during the Holocaust. Belarus is proud of its citizens, the Righteous among the Nations who risked their lives to save hundreds of Jews. The exhibition, which opened in the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War highlights the pain of memory and call of conscience,” the message reads.
The ceremony to mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day was held in the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War. It featured symbolic lighting of six candles and a moment of silence to honor the memory of the six million victims of the Holocaust. Diplomas and medals of the Righteous among the Nations were presented to the families of Nadezha Kukharyonok, Roman and Sofia Malinovskys. During the war, these people risked their lives helping prisoners escape death camps in the territory of Belarus.
The ceremony was organized by the Israeli Embassy in Belarus with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A photo exhibition was opened during the ceremony.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by the UN in 2005. Righteous among the Nations is an honorary title awarded by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority. The Righteous among the Nations Medal has an inscription "He who saves one soul is like he who saved a whole world".
