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The holocaust showed how easy it is for civilisation to cross the boundary into brutality, a road that inevitably leads to its destruction. Speaking in Krakow at the forum, Let My People Live!, President Vladimir Putin stressed that humanity must remember the harsh lessons of the past, must know what caused these past tragedies and do everything possible to ensure they never happen again.

But there is also the feeling of shame for the present day, for the manifestations of anti-Semitism in Russia. The President promised that Russia will always not just condemn such manifestations but will fight them with the force of the law and through public opinion.

Modern civilisation faces a threat no less terrible than Fascism – the threat of terrorism. The similarities between Nazism and terrorism are obvious: the same contempt for human life, the same hatred for different views and, most terrible of all, the same commitment to its fanatical goals. The only way to vanquish terrorism and preserve civilisation is to put aside all minor differences and close ranks against the common enemy.