The President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, sent a message on Sunday, June 28, during the ceremony commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Iași Pogrom, held at the Jewish Cemetery in Iași. The message of the head of state was presented by Vlad Ionescu, state counselor in the Department of Foreign Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Romanians Everywhere.
“Only those who are forgotten really die…“, the president sent, quoting words that, according to the message, summarize Elie Wiesel’s philosophy of life.
Nicușor Dan stated that memory is “a form of justice, dignity and responsibility” and described the Iași Pogrom as “one of the most tragic and painful pages in the history of Romania”.
“The pogrom of June 1941 remains a deep scar in history and national consciousness, a devastating consequence of anti-Semitism, intolerance and hatred directed against fellow human beings“, the message says.
The president also mentioned the writer Mihail Sebastian, who wrote in his diary that “the massacre in Iași is an obsession that we cannot escape”. Nicușor Dan said that these words capture the way in which violence was tolerated, encouraged and transformed by the authorities of the time into a systematic policy of persecution against the Jews.
Warning against extremism
The head of state emphasized that, 85 years after these atrocities, Romania has the duty to keep the memory of the victims alive and to reaffirm its commitment to the historical truth.
“Commemoration is not only an act of remembrance, but also an expression of respect for human dignity and a guarantee that the lessons of the past will not be forgotten“, Nicușor Dan transmitted.
The President warned that the Iași Pogrom shows how fragile a society’s values can become when prejudice, misinformation and hate speech replace respect for life.
“History shows us that evil does not begin with acts of extreme violence, but with the tolerance of discrimination, stereotyping and exclusion“, the message also states.
Nicușor Dan drew attention to the fact that hate speech is once again present in the public space, both in Romania and in Europe, and the commemoration of the Pogrom in Iași thus acquires “additional significance”.
“It is no longer just a symbolic gesture of silence, but also a warning. It reminds us that the danger has not disappeared, that extremism and historical revisionism, often masked in seemingly legitimate formulas of public discourse, remain real temptations“, the president said.
Education, “the strongest form of prevention”
In his message, Nicușor Dan emphasized the role of education in preventing such tragedies and said that young people must know the truth about the Holocaust and about the responsibilities that made these crimes possible.
“Only through knowledge, critical spirit and cultivating respect for diversity can we build a society resilient in the face of manipulation, hatred and extremism“, the head of state said.
The President also stated that Romania has the obligation to preserve the places of memory, the testimonies of survivors and the results of historical research, so that future generations understand not only what happened, but also why such atrocities must no longer be possible.
Nicușor Dan said that Romania has made progress in protecting human rights and developing a legislative framework to combat anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and hate speech, but stressed that these achievements do not end the memory process.
“On this commemoration, we pay tribute to the victims, survivors and all those who had the courage to stand up to evil and save lives in times of moral darkness“, the president said.
