Clarifying 70 Years of Whitewashing and ... - Shelomo Alfassa
Clarifying 70 Years of Whitewashing and ... - Shelomo Alfassa
Clarifying 70 Years of Whitewashing and ... - Shelomo Alfassa
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A/RES/60/7 (which Bulgaria was a co-sponsor <strong>of</strong>). This Resolution calls for UN Member States to<br />
“develop educational programmes to instill the memory <strong>of</strong> the tragedy” as well as take “measures<br />
to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance <strong>and</strong> education.” 161<br />
4. Through the leadership <strong>of</strong> an independent international body, Bulgaria should consider<br />
conducting a Truth <strong>and</strong> Reconciliation Forum where victims <strong>of</strong> gross human rights violations in<br />
both ‘Old’ <strong>and</strong> ‘New’ Bulgaria—witnesses who were persecuted <strong>and</strong> survived—would have the<br />
opportunity to give statements about their experiences in regard to Bulgaria <strong>and</strong> its interaction<br />
with the Jewish people during the era <strong>of</strong> the Holocaust.<br />
5. Alongside any physical monument which makes reference to Bulgaria “saving” Jews, should be<br />
placed a monument to the 13,000 Jews Bulgaria deported from ‘New’ Bulgaria. Such a<br />
monument should contain the names <strong>of</strong> the victims which were deported to Treblinka (which are<br />
on record).<br />
6. The names <strong>of</strong> the Jews killed, or who died by extension, due to Bulgarian policies <strong>and</strong> treatment,<br />
in ‘Old’ Bulgaria (i.e. the cities <strong>of</strong> S<strong>of</strong>ia, Plevden, etc.) or other locations in Europe (such as the<br />
case <strong>of</strong> the murdered Bulgarian students in France), should also be listed.<br />
Justice means the remembrance <strong>of</strong> all the victims, not just the one group which the Bulgarian<br />
government elected not to deport. Where there is no remembrance, there is no truth, where there is no<br />
truth, there will be no justice, for both the survivors <strong>and</strong> the sacred memory <strong>of</strong> the men, women <strong>and</strong><br />
children who were murdered because <strong>of</strong> Bulgaria’s partnership with Nazi Germany.<br />
161 Conscious suppression is a form <strong>of</strong> denial—<strong>and</strong> on the eve <strong>of</strong> the second International Day <strong>of</strong> Commemoration, U.S.<br />
Ambassador Alej<strong>and</strong>ro Wolff, declared that denying the Holocaust is tantamount to approving genocide. Wolff, acting head <strong>of</strong><br />
the U.S. delegation, said: “Those who will deny the Holocaust -- <strong>and</strong> sadly there are some who do -- reveal not only ignorance<br />
but their moral failure….To deny the events <strong>of</strong> the Holocaust is tantamount to the approval <strong>of</strong> genocide in all its forms.”<br />
Judaic Studies Academic Paper Series / Library <strong>of</strong> Congress ISSN No. 2156-0390 © <strong>Shelomo</strong> <strong>Alfassa</strong> (shelomo@alfassa.com)