The Prime Minister toured the museum ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Excerpts from the transcript:
Visiting the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre
Visiting the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre
Visiting the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre
Visiting the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre
Dmitry Medvedev’s remarks during his visit to the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre
Visiting the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre
Dmitry Medvedev: The 27th of January is marked worldwide as Holocaust Remembrance Day. On that day 72 years ago, the Red Army liberated Auschwitz.
The Holocaust is among the most horrific crimes committed by the Nazis. Six million Jews died in Nazi death factories. According to various estimates, 2.7 million Jews died in occupied Soviet territory alone. Therefore, the tragedy of the Jewish people is a cause of great pain for us; it is a disaster that touches every one of us, regardless of religion or ethnic background.
Importantly, this museum embodies the idea of preserving the historical truth about those terrible events.
The Holocaust demonstrated the danger of anti-Semitism and chauvinism. Today, ethnic and religious xenophobia is taking on an ugly new form in terrorism. This is the same murderous ideology.
Anti-Semitic sentiment and nationalist speech must be rooted out at all levels. Respect between people of different cultures and religions is critical for our multi-ethnic state to continue to exist and prosper.
The Government has approved a dedicated state programme for interethnic affairs, which focuses on the idea of accord and harmony in Russian society.
The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre is one of the world’s largest. It combines high-tech means with great emotional intensity. One of its programmes was recognised with a presidential award on two occasions. The museum also received the UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence.
