Israeli ambassador calls for separating truth about Holocaust from politics
The ambassador underlined the identity of Russia and Israel’s views of the history and results of World War II
MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Experts must have an opportunity to scrutinize the history of Holocaust without political pressure, the Israeli Ambassador in Russia, Gary Koren said on Tuesday as he attended the opening ceremony of an exhibition entitled "Shoah/Holocaust: How Could People Do This?" at the Museum of Victory on Poklonny Hill in Moscow.
"The main thing is to keep up the memories and to continue research," Koren said. "It’s important to assure an opportunity for historians to do research quietly instead of being exposed to any forms of political interference."
The ambassador underlined the identity of Russia and Israel’s views of the history and results of World War II and said the two countries were cooperating closely as regards the establishing of names of the victims of Nazism.
"We’re working actively with the Russian state service for archives and we have a project titled ‘Every Person Has a Name’," Koren said. "Whole families died and therefore it’s very important for us to establish their names. Russian archives can help us a lot in this sense."
"We’re siding with Russia in everything that concerns the results of World War II," he said, adding that the Israelis treasured the fact.
Koren added the tragedy of Holocaust might repeat itself and hence "<…> it’s really a matter of importance to maintain the memories of Holocaust and to continue the research related to it."
The exhibition at the Museum of Victory highlights the major stages in the history of Holocaust. It begins with the depiction of the Jewish people’s everyday life in the countries of Europe and in the Soviet Union before World War II and ends with the story of liberation of inmates at Nazi death camps and their return to peaceful life.
Some of the exhibits have been loaned by the Museum of Jewish Heritage. These are the personal belongings of the inmates at Nazi camps, the pencil sketches of frontline routine, the Red Army soldiers’ letters from the war trenches, a typewriter and a glass for Kiddush that belonged to the Soviet writer and publicist Ilya Ehrenburg, and many other valuable artefacts.