SARAJEVO, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Jewish community held a commemoration here on Monday to mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) Presidency Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic attended the commemoration.
In his address at the premises of Jewish community in Sarajevo, Komsic highlighted the importance of the historical date since it is "the largest and the most brutal crime of the past century, remembered by human civilization."
"Seventy-four years later, we are reminded of 1945 when the Red Army released the seven and a half thousands of the prisoners who were left by Nazis in the concentration camp Auschwitz," Komsic said, adding that this crime should never repeat.
Jakob Finci, president of the BiH Jewish community, said Holocaust was a tragedy of all mankind, and not just the Jewish people.
Just before the start of World War II, in 1939, some 14,000 Jews lived in BiH. There were about 12,000 living in capital Sarajevo, meaning that every eighth citizen in the city was Jew.
During the Second World War, as a result of genocide committed by the forces of the Independent State of Croatia, over 10,000 Jews were killed. Of the remaining 4,000, about half moved to the new state of Israel over the next few years.
Currently, some 1,000 Jews live in BiH.
