PRESS COMMUNIQUE

October 10th, 2005

“Any strong nation assumes its history, with good and bad, and I, as the President, assume the responsibility of fully recuperating the history of Romanians”, declared the President of Romania, Traian Basescu , today, October 10th, at the Cotroceni Palace, at the ceremony for commemorating of the Day of the Holocaust.

    Thus, President Basescu emphasized the need for continuing the process of recuperating the history of the Holocaust on the territory of our country. “ Romania was part of this horror, and Romanians have been never before been told that this is part of the reality of our history”, said the Head of State.

    The President expressed his disapproval towards the persecution that the Romanian State started against hundreds of thousands of Jews, Romanian citizens, starting with October 9th, 1941 until 1945. The Head of State also showed that “today we do not condemn the Romanian people, but the Romanian State , which had decided to align Romania with the countries persecuting Jews”.

    The Head of State also mentioned that his visits to the Museum of the Holocaust in Washington and to Auschwitz have strengthened his belief that the reality of the Holocaust in Romania cannot be denied. “I have seen proof there and I am convinced that our force, today, is to assume not only the part of history we like, but also the errors, in order not to repeat them in future”, declared the Head of State.

    The Head of State also saluted the launch of the textbook for high-school students, entitled “The History of the Jews – The Holocaust”, which is part of the national strategy on the subject of the Holocaust. “After the recognition, last year, of the existence of the Holocaust in Romania , I believe that this is the most important step. It is not much, but it shows our will to recuperate history. This is the moment when statements begin to materialize”, said President Basescu .

    In conclusion, President Basescu expressed his profound respect for the survivors of the Holocaust and brought homage to all the 6 million Jews exterminated in the Holocaust, and especially to those who suffered because of the Romanian State .

    Within the ceremony of the Day of the Holocaust, the Cotroceni Palace hosted a commemorative show offered by the State Jewish Theatre.

The Department for Public Communication
10 Octomber 2005