TIRANA, Jan 27 /ATA/ The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka, said on Friday that, during the Second World War, Albania became a safe haven for Jews, the only country in Europe where their number almost increased tenfold after the war.
In the framework of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs hosted the event entitled “Albania and the rescue of Jews from persecution and the Holocaust.”
In the address delivered on this occasion, Xhaçka said that the tradition started in 2013 for the commemoration of Holocaust Day aims not to forget what happened and to make sure it does not repeat itself, to create a more tolerant society that is oriented towards the respect for human rights.
“Commemorating the macabre crime of the extermination of 6 million Jews in concentration camps during a systematic and inhumane persecution also reinforces our vigilance in the fight against all forms of anti-Semitism and racial hatred. This vigilance has become even more crucial today amid a raging war on European territory with crimes against humanity from a country that should be one of the guarantors of world order, when the truth is at risk of being manipulated and the social platforms normalize the rhetoric that dehumanizes the ‘Other, the different’, spread the language of hatred, racism and intolerance, as well as narratives that distort reality,” she said.
Therefore, Xhaçka said that “we need to stand up for the values of humanity, tolerance, non-discrimination.”
“The protection of these values requires concrete action. The fight against anti-Semitism and any other form of racism requires an active approach from governments to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and to instill the values of humanity and anti-discrimination in schools, families and communities,” the Minister said.
According to her, “Albania’s experience during World War II proves what we can achieve when we defend human values against racism and hatred.”
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