Public educational campaign 'Remember. 23 August' recalls victims of totalitarianisms

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European Network Remembrance and Solidarity

Aug 22, 2022, 08:00 ET

WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 23 August marks the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes proclaimed by the European Parliament in 2008. On this day in 1939, just before the Second World War, the Third Reich and the Soviet Union signed an agreement known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It gave rise to a tragedy for millions of people. The European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS) is organising the international public educational campaign Remember. August 23 bringing the significance of those events closer to contemporary Europeans.

Films which recall the individuals who experienced totalitarian violence, commemorative black ribbon pins, an article on the contemporary controversy surrounding the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact by the renowned British historian Roger Moorhouse, are just some of the activities of of the ENRS campaign.

The ENRS's initiative is joined by the European museums and memorial sites. On 23 August, visitors to some of them, such as the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, House of European History in Brussels, will receive a pin with the inscription 'Remember. August 23'.

The films will be shown on social media and public television in Romania, Czechia and Poland. The protagonists of the three premiered films teach us that it is necessary to call a lie by its name as becoming aware of the truth brings liberation (Doina Cornea). They explain that freedom can also be found in reading and imagination (Ieva Lase), and that in the pursuit of reconciliation, dialogue is key, including that about trauma (Władysław Bartoszewski).

In addition, an article by the British historian Roger Moorhouse in which the author analyses why Western Europe is reluctant to remember the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact will be published on www.enrs.eu on 23rd August. The article will also appear in online editions of selected European dailies.

This year's 'Remember. August 23' campaign takes place in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, a tragedy affecting hundreds of thousands of people. On the day of anniversary of the signing of the criminal Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, we should remember not only the millions of victims of the 20th-century totalitarianisms, but also the inhabitants of Irpin, Borodyanka, Bucha or Mariupol.

More information: www.enrs.eu/August23.

ENRS YouTube: https://cutt.ly/Remember-23August.

Campaign 'Remember. August 23' is co-financed by European Union.

SOURCE European Network Remembrance and Solidarity