12 October 2006
Romania's president Traian Basescu has lamented the lack of awareness about the Shoah in his country. "We have a long war ahead," Basescu said at the third annual Holocaust Day commemorations in the capital Bucharest. "Finding out the reality did not solve the problem of national conscience regarding the crimes committed by state authorities." Romania allied itself with Nazi Germany in 1940 and participated in the killing of as many as 380,000 Jews during World War II. The state's complicity in the Shoah was largely ignored during the almost five decades of Communist rule under dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. But with Romania seeking to join the European Union, authorities have encouraged a better historical outlook. "It is a difficult process which requires a change of mentality and the ability to accept reality," Basescu said.
