“The historical lesson of the Holocaust, that we should never forget, is that all people shall always be part of the great family of democratic nations and shall never cooperate in any way with tyrants who challenge the international order”. This message was passed by Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev in his speech during an International Conference in the Polish city of Krakow dedicated to the 84th Anniversary of Kristallnacht. At the forum, organized by the European Jewish Association, the experience of European countries in preventing manifestations of anti-Semitism and measures against hate crimes was discussed.
In his speech to the large audience, Ivan Geshev highlighted the historical example that Bulgaria set during the Second World War by rescuing the Bulgarian Jews.“We all mourn the loss of innocent lives, victims of racial and religious prejudice and hatred and bow to the memory of over 1 million people who died in this camp we visited yesterday (the Auschwitz camp) and to the memory of over 6 million Jews killed in World War II. However, I stand with pride, because the Bulgarian people did not betray their Jews and did not allow any of them, I repeat - none of them - to be deported to the death camps”. In his speech, the Prosecutor General noted the merits of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian politicians at that time, Bulgarian legal practitioners, doctors and writers, as well as many citizens who contributed to the rescue of 48,000 Bulgarian Jews during the years of the Holocaust.
“I am also full of hope, even though today we are unfortunately witnessing a resurgence of hate speech, a rise in anti-Semitism worldwide and another war, that the lessons of Holocaust have been learned and that the example for humanity, tolerance and dignity, my nation set, is alive, that good will prevail and we will prevent this enormous evil from happening again," Geshev also stated.
The Prosecutor General classified the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews as a feat. "A miracle that the world knows almost nothing about, except for the State of Israel, and unfortunately in my country there is little talk about it as well. I am a man of words and deeds, because I am a lawyer and a prosecutor, and that is normal. In times of resurgence of hate speech, of anti-Semitism, of things we may have thought forgotten, deeds become more and more important. As the greatest Bulgarian - Vasil Levski - said, "It’s deeds we need, not words", stated Ivan Geshev.
The Prosecutor General made the guests of the conference in Krakow acquainted with the upcoming forum, dedicated to the prevention of hate speech: “Stop Hate Speech”, which the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria is organizing in Sofia. Ivan Geshev emphasized that guests from different religious communities will participate in the event in the Bulgarian capital as a symbol of tolerance, as well as civil activists related to the protection of human rights and freedoms. Geshev announced that in the international conference, which will be held on December 5 and 6 in Sofia, Prosecutors General from many European countries will participate, who will also discuss the legal dimensions of countering hate speech and manifestations of anti-Semitism. The forum in Sofia, dedicated to tolerance, is organized with the cooperation of European Jewish Association.
Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev also announced that next year, when the 80th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews will be marked, a large mеmorial will be laid in the center of Sofia in memory of the legal practitioners who contributed to the historic act.
In conclusion, Ivan Geshev recalled the words of the researcher, diplomat and humanist Fridtjof Nansen: "The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer, so I hope with joint efforts to solve even the impossible problems".
