This is the central event of this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day in Rijeka, which aims to remember all victims of Nazi regimes during World War II. In most European countries, including Croatia, the Day of Holocaust Remembrance and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity is marked on 27 January, the day when the Red Army liberated 7,500 survivors of the Auschwitz camp in Oświęcim, Poland, in 1945.

The participants of the round table were Ivo Goldstein from the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Rina Brumini, vice-president of the Jewish community in Rijeka, actor in the play “Eichmann in Jerusalem” Dado Ćosić and Oleg Mandić, survivor of the Auschwitz camp who joined the panel discussion online via Zoom. The moderator of the round table was Nikola Petković from the Department of Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka. At the beginning of the round table Marko Filipović, Rijeka mayor, addressed the audience.

Marko Filipović, Rijeka mayor

“Commemorating the Holocaust Remembrance Day is important because revisionism, especially the historical one, never sleeps and we must not allow the possibility of fascism to re-enter our lives. In a democratic society, we must fight against fascism in different ways, including the way that it is openly discussed, as we have done by organising this round table,” said Rijeka Mayor Marko Filipović.

The relativisation of history in Croatia is a constant that has lasted for more than 30 years and should be opposed, considers Ivo Goldstein. “The relativisation of history not only exists but it has not weakened over the years, but fortunately there are still those of us who systematically oppose it. In Rijeka, there is a fairly clear discourse of opposition to this relativisation, it is very clear and loud, resulting in becoming one of the majority opinions and that is why I always feel good in Rijeka, “said Goldstein, adding that fascism is an ideology that should be uncompromisingly opposed.

The president of the City Council of the City of Rijeka, Ana Trošelj, also joined the round table.

In addition to the round table “There Are No Small Fascisms” the Holocaust Remembrance Day this year in Rijeka was marked by the performance “Eichmann in Jerusalem”, by the ZeKaEm Theatre (the Zagreb Youth Theatre), which took place at the Croatian Cultural Center in Sušak, as well as a special programme at the Jewish Cemetery of Kozala , organised by teachers and pupils of elementary school Škurinje.

Also, the Mayor of Rijeka participated in the #WeRemember campaign organised by the Embassy of the State of Israel, and the windows of the Rijeka City Administration were appropriately decorated for the occasion.