About 400 old family photos and documents with stories of Jewish families were exhibited at the National Library in Chisinau on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day that is celebrated on January 27. The pictures can be seen on banners that depict stories of Holocaust survivors from Moldova told in interviews, IPN reports.
National Library director Elena Pintilei said the Holocaust is one of the most tragic phenomena of the 20th century in universal history. As the library plays an essential role in urban and rural communities, together with the community of researchers, it was decided to stage the activities in a way that would be interesting to visitors. “We think today’s event will occupy an appropriate place and will complement that row of events that are held now in museums and libraries,” stated Elena Pintilei.
Irina Shihova, scientific researcher at the Ethnology Center of the Institute of Cultural Heritage of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, said the Auschwitz extermination camp was liberated on January 27, 1945 and this is the date of liberation and salvation of those few who survived. It is the date of remembrance of those who didn’t survive. “It is a universal date that is celebrated in all the Western states. In Moldova it has been marked since 2015. This is a unique national occasion for remembering that we had and have Jews,” noted Irina Shihova.
The researcher spoke about the large number of exterminated people. “Statistically speaking, let’s imagine those 6 million Jews who lost their lives in Europe. These are two populations of the Republic of Moldova. Can you imagine gathering and killing two populations of a not very large country like the Republic of Moldova during several years?” she asked.
Diana Dumitru, lecturer at the Teacher Training University “Ion Creangă”, said she is glad to see such an exhibition at the National Library, which is an important institution of the country. This exhibit helps the visitors to come closer to a part of the history of the country, society, the city as many of the presented stories were related by people who lived here, were raised and started families here.
The program of activities that will be staged to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust includes a thematic exhibition entitled “Holocaust – Right to Memory. This presents a large part of the literature kept at the National Library and books from the personal library of Irinea Shihova. As part of the event, there were screened two documentaries about Holocaust survivors from Moldova. In the exhibition entitled “Moldovan Jewish Family Album” that can be visited in the course of this week, students of the City Theatrical Lyceum act as guides.
