Bucharest Daily News
TVR 1 - Holocaust in Romania (Holocaustul in Romania )
Alecs Iancu
This special show on Romanian public television focused on the issue of the Holocaust and how it is perceived in Romania , where only recently a national day was established to mark the killing of six million Jews and other minorities in Nazi camps during World War II.
The show was anchored by Mircea Suciu, the editor in chief of the magazine History's Files and welcomed Professor Ioan Scurtu, a renowned historian who is the head of the Nicolae Iorga History Institute, and Liviu Rotman, from the National School for Political and Administrative Studies.
According to Suciu, it may seem strange that history still creates controversies and that differing opinions and views exist on various historic events. However, it happens quite frequently and the Holocaust is no exception, he said.
The anchor asked how it was decided to mark a Holocaust day in Romania and what significance the date has.
First of all, a special committee made up of top historians was set up to study the Holocaust and this committee decided that Romania should mark the Holocaust on a different day than the international commemoration date, Scurtu said. Thus, the committee decided that Romania should mark the Holocaust on October 9, which was when massive deportations of Jews from Romania began, he added.
The government accepted the suggestion and therefore, the Holocaust was commemorated for the first time in Romania last year, Scurtu concluded.
Furthermore, a special institute for the study of the Holocaust was also set up, said Rotman, adding that the institute would be subordinated to the government, which means the Romanian society is ready to assume the issue of the Holocaust.
The institute is designed to conduct research, but also to educate, among others, the young generation about the Holocaust and its consequences, Rotman added. The professor also said the institute should offer the necessary grounds so that the Holocaust can be introduced in the country's cultural strategy, he said, adding that organizations has already began editing books and hosting exhibitions on the issue.