On the 11th and 12th of September 2019, a number of events took place in Bratislava, dedicated to the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Fascism, which is celebrated annually from 1962 on the second Sunday of September, as it was in this month that the Second World War began and ended.
In the building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic the grand opening of the historical and documentary exhibition "Holocaust: destruction, liberation, salvation", dedicated to this day, took place.
The exposition presented little-known photo documents from museums and archives of Russia, Germany, Ukraine and Switzerland. The exhibition reveals the scale of the Holocaust and the decisive role of the Red Army in the liberation of prisoners of Nazi camps. Central to it is the story of the liberation of the prisoners of Auschwitz, among whom were Slovak Jews.
The opening of the exhibition was made by the Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Alexander Danko, Russian Ambassador in Slovakia Alexei Fedotov, co-chairman of the Moscow Holocaust Educational Center, Professor Ilya Altman. The opening of the exposition was also attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Slovakia, Gabriela Matecna, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Lukas Parisek, State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Ivan Sechik, as well as members of parliament, deputies, representatives of public and veteran organizations.
A round table was held at the Russian Center of Science and Culture on the theme “Study and Teaching of the Holocaust in Russia and Slovakia,” which was attended by representatives of museums, public Jewish organizations, and scholars.
In the Russian center of the European Foundation of Slavic Literature and Culture, a discussion was held on the theme "Preserving the memory of the victims of fascism." During the discussion, issues of preserving the historical truth and counteracting the rewriting of history, preserving the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide were also discussed, suggestions were made about the need to teach history lessons in gymnasiums and schools in order to preserve the memory of the victims and the extent of the repression.
Professor Ilya Altman, co-chair of the Moscow Holocaust Science and Education Center, was presented books on the Armenian Genocide, authored by Professor Igor Bondarenko, President of the European Foundation of Slavic Literature and Culture.