2007年VOA标准英语-Hungary, Israel Sign Holocaust Education Agreem

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
15 January 2007

Hungary and Israel have agreed to improve education about the Holocaust¹, which was a taboo² study topic when the country was a Soviet³ satellite state. Stefan Bos reports for VOA from Budapest.

Nearly three years ago Hungarian and Israeli government officials attended the inauguration⁴ of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest. The Center was to help the public and researchers better understand World War II when 600,000 Hungarian Jews were killed by German Nazis⁵ and Hungarians cooperating with them.

But the Hungarian government now says not enough has been done to educate new generations about that dark chapter in Hungary's history.

Under Soviet domination, teachers were discouraged to teach the Holocaust by Communist authorities, which also restricted Jewish studies and religious observance. Hungary's Socialist-led cabinet, which includes former Communists, wants to change that in cooperation with the Israeli government and experts.

The State Secretary for International Affairs at the Hungarian Ministry⁶ of Education and Culture, Katalin Bogyay, tells VOA News her delegation⁷ has signed an agreement with Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, the Yad Vashem Institute.

"With the Yad Vashem Institute we have a program for 10 years now and we will renew that," he said. "It is very important for teachers to learn how to teach the Holocaust. And this Yad Vashem agreement is about finding the right tools for Holocaust education."

Hungary has Eastern Europe's largest Jewish community outside Russia, numbering about 100,000 people.

State Secretary Bogyay says Hungary and Israel will invest in massive educational exchange programs.

"There will be educational collaboration⁸ programs between universities, between schools," he added. "There will be strong programs and strong scholar ship programs between the two countries."

Besides Jewish people, many Roma, or Gypsies speaking the Lovari language, were also killed during Word War II.

Hungarian Minister of Education and Culture Istvan Hiller was to attend the unveiling of a Lovari language prayer board in Jerusalem commemorating⁹ the Roma Holocaust.

Hungary's government says it hopes its actions will contribute to more reconciliation¹⁰ and less nationalism in the region.

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

5 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

9 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

10 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。