[ad_1]
In this way, the diplomat reacted to the article published on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in which the parliamentarian who heads the Seimas Commission for Historical Remembrance also mentioned the Jews’ own cooperation with the Nazi and Soviet regimes.
“We have a saying in Hebrew: If one person throws a stone into a well, a hundred strong men cannot pull it out. I don’t know Mr. Rakutis. Perhaps he had good intentions. But this article, written for International Holocaust Remembrance Day , unfortunately it was extremely insensitive, disturbed and damaged the image of Lithuania, ”the ambassador told BNS on Wednesday.
“I am especially sad after so many great people have tried to show respect for the victims,” he added, referring to the care shown by the president of Seimas, the prime minister and the foreign minister.
How can the Jewish babies and mothers who were killed in thousands of mass graves be blamed, even indirectly, for sympathizing with Stalin? No more embarrassment? The Jews were also deported to Siberia. It saddens and disappoints me to read such a text, especially today. It doesn’t serve our common history, “Y. Levy commented.
V. Rakutis, chairman of the parliamentary commission for the fight for freedom and the historical memory of the state, spoke about the Nazi collaborators in the text published on Wednesday and about the collaboration of the Jews with the Nazi and Soviet regimes.
“But what about those helpers? Who are the people who adopt terrible ideas? Is it the leaders of the Lithuanian nation, like the first volunteer Kazys Škirpa or General Vėtra? Or maybe Antanas Smetona? Despite the great uproar of the past few years, there was no way to prove they organized the Holocaust. No, it is quite different people, often uneducated, who tend to feel important after receiving a rifle in their hands, sometimes severely affected since 1941. Soviet repression, sometimes blindly following orders. They look like stripes. Let’s get to know them, let’s understand why they did it. After all, there was no shortage of Holocaust perpetrators among the Jews themselves, especially in the ghetto’s self-government structures. We need to name these people out loud and try to prevent people like them from happening again. But also to answer the question of what were the opinions of the Jews themselves, what ideas led some Jews to cooperate with the Soviet authorities, to occupy important positions in the repressive Soviet structures. Sometimes understanding causes allows understanding consequences, although it does not justify actions, ”wrote V. Rakutis.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, chairman of the homeland union, Lithuanian Christian Democrats, said he was outraged by this comment and stressed that it did not reflect the position of the party or the government.
After the German occupation of Lithuania during World War II, the Nazis and local collaborators killed more than 90 percent. of more than 200 thousand. Lithuanian Jews.
Israel has awarded more than 900 Lithuanians the title of righteous nation of the world for saving Jews by risking their lives.
[ad_2]
