Quotable notes

"My father was a wounded soldier and he was in Auschwitz. He had a tattoo, 11367, on his chest. ... This is not my first time here. I came here with my children and I hope to come many more times, even with my grandchildren. This is a sacred place for me and my family. This is the place where my father suffered. ...

"Ukrainians know of the danger involved with intolerance and in losing one's checks and balances. We came to Independence Square to defend those sacred values - liberty, human rights. ...

"And I will guarantee that in Ukraine there will never be anti-Semitism, xenophobia or hatred between people. ... There will never again be a Jewish question in my country. The tragedy of the past will never be repeated on the soil of Ukraine."

- Viktor Yushchenko, addressing a forum in Krakow on January 27 before ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, as quoted by the Associated Press. The Ukrainian president's father, Andriy, was a prisoner of war at Auschwitz from February to July 1944; he was also imprisoned in Dachau and Buchenwald.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 13, 2005, No. 7, Vol. LXXIII

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