11/03/2017
Events that can not be forgotten and remain as a permanent memory are the past, present and future of our existence. Our city has more painful memories that left permanent scars. After the desolation and the devastation of World War I, WW II left another gaping wound – the mass deportation of Jews from Bitola in 1943. This genocidal act swept five centuries of existence of the Jewish culture, with all the material and spiritual wealth.
Our fellow citizens and our ancestors shared the good and the bad in a magnificent coexistence and common goals. It all stopped for a moment, on March 11, 1943, when the fascist occupiers deported our citizens to Treblinka, from where no one has returned... Three thousand people and fates were extinguished at that moment. Since then, for more than 70 years Bitola commemorates this event.
This year, "Mobility Bitola" as part of civil society, together with the Red Cross - Bitola, "Macedonian artifacts" - Bitola, ARHAM - Bitola and the Center for Cultural Decontamination, had the privilege and honor to be one of the organizers of this event titled "March of life: March 11, 1943 - NEVER AGAIN!". The event held on March 9 included the official renaming of the House of Public Health in the name of our former compatriot, Dr. Haim Abravanel.
At the outset, before the House of Public Health, where once stood the synagogue "Aragon", and today stands a monument to the victims of the Holocaust and national hero Estrella Ovadia Mara, flowers were laid by representatives of local government, the ambassador of Israel in the Republic Macedonia, His Excellence Dan Orian and a large delegation of young people from Israel and Germany. Then, the numerous group began the march of life from the Center for Public Health "Dr. Haim Abravanel", through the main street Shirok sokak and the city park (where pillars of the former synagogue "Portugal Kahane" remain to this day), until the railway station where flowers were laid on the track.
Furthermore, there were several other events, including the exhibition of photographs "Jerusalem remembers Bitola" and a presentation of ARHAM - Association for sustainable urban development, architecture and ambiance of the memorial park of the Jews of Monastir / Bitola.
