Holocaust Victims Commemorated on Rybne Square in Bratislava on Monday

Bratislava, September 11 (TASR) - Several personages commemorated Holocaust victims on Rybne Square in Bratislava on Monday and also laid wreaths at the monument. "Let's remember that thoughts and words can be dangerous and lead to more hateful acts," warned President Zuzana Caputova, adding that members of minorities, including the Jewish community, are once again the target of hate speech. She appealed for more intensive protection of places of Jewish social life and also called on people, politicians and public authorities to do everything in their statements and in raising children so that similar horrors don't have to be repeated. The head of state also pointed to the adoption of the Jewish Code in Slovakia, which, according to her, was a harbinger of the deportation of Jews and by which Tiso's regime declared itself on the side of fascist Germany [Jozef Tiso was the president of the fascist WW2 Slovak state -ed.note]. "The Holocaust didn't happen overnight, the systematic murder was preceded by hateful thought and words, which led to hateful deeds," she stressed. The Holocaust victims were also commemorated during the day by Parliamentary Chair Boris Kollar (We Are Family) who laid a wreath at the monument to the victims of the Holocaust. Defence Minister Martin Sklenar stated that we can't allow manifestations of extremism to become part of our lives again. He also pointed to the Jewish Code and transport trains from Slovakia to Nazi concentration and extermination camps. am/mcs