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This publication is the translation of the original Memories of Ráv Élijáhu Domán (Domán Ernő), written in Hebrew. The original document is saved and stored in Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority . The translation and has been made by István Domán, the son of Ráv Élijáhu Domán, in September-October 2004.
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This magazine is the English version of selected articles published in the pages of the review Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) ISSN 1802-8241, which is issued by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.This magazine is the English version of selected articles published in the pages of the review Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) ISSN 1802-8241, which is issued by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. The original version of the journal Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) is the part of CEEOL also.
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Despite the advances in research after the year 1989, there are still blank spaces on the map documenting the country’s victims of Nazi persecution and racially motivated persecution of the Jewish population of Bohemia and Moravia. Together with a number of scientific institutions, museums and archives, initiatives and civic associations, the Cabinet of the History of Sciences of the Institute for Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic has also been involved in documentation of the victims of Nazi persecution and persecution on racial grounds for many years. The Cabinet’s collective research project Scientists and Intellectuals of the Czech Lands as Victims of Nazi Persecution 1939–1945 was launched in 2007 and focused on representative documentation of the consequences of the Nazi occupation in the personnel composition of the scientific community in the Czech lands in the latter half of the 1930s and the first half of the 1940s.
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The 18th of October 2014 marked the 75th anniversary of the departure of the very first transport of European Jews in the history of the holocaust – one that left Ostrava for Nisko upon San in the eastern part of the General Government where the Nazis planned to set up an extensive “reservation” for Jews displaced from the conquered territories and the whole of Germany. As part of the Nisko Plan , a total of seven transports with more than five thousand Jews departed from Ostrava, Katowice and Vienna in the latter half of October 1939. Their journey materialised even though, by the time of departure of the first transport, the top Nazi officials had dismissed the entire plan of establishing a Jewish reservation between the Rivers Vistula and Bug. The ensuing destinies of thousands of Jewish deportees varied; however, most of them were to die or suffer in Nazi as well as in Soviet prisons and camps.
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I think we all have a big problem – how to condemn communism. How to use democratic tools against a totalitarian system. Th is is our main problem. How to deal with the past. How to condemn, in a practical way, the communist system. Because we don’t have the tools. We have the seminars, like this one, where we give speeches, where we express our many views on this topic… What is the difference? Th e difference is that this is the state. Because the forensics, they have the gloves. But we don’t have gloves. We find bodies buried in common graves. But they have, practically, all the tools. They said those crimes were prescribed as ordinary crimes. Not as crimes against humanity, not as a Holocaust. Why not? Are they not similar?
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This conference is subtitled “The View of Historians and Legal Experts”. I myself am neither a professional historian nor an expert on the law. Rather, I speak from personal experience as somebody who comes from a family that suffered in various ways under both totalitarian systems, and as somebody who lived in exile and in his own way took part in activities aimed against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia – in my case, at foreign radio stations. There are in essence two strands to what I would like to speak about. I will partly attempt to answer certain questions which come under this panel’s heading. And I would also like to consider certain aspects of these issues from the Jewish perspective. That is because we find in the histories of both the 20th century’s totalitarian regimes tragic and interesting links to Jewish history. Some have already been discussed, and I have my own perspective on them.
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MIXER, Stejn Vervat: Sećanje na balkanskom tržištu trauma; antiCEMENT, Saša Ćirić: Kanadska inicijacija; ARMATURA, Adriana Sabo: Čemu služi populaciona politika; VREME SMRTI I RAZONODE, Miloš Živanović: Sever mi u krvi, Psalam konjskog lika
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This handbook offers only some of the possible answers to the question how to deepen the discussion on the past in polarized societies where denial and/or relativization of crimes is an everyday practice and where one can hear exclamations such as "There is only one truth!" more often than questions "What has happened to you and your family?" The pages you are reading have been written for all those who have doubts and question a black-and-white picture of a 'better past', subject to adjustments and polishing in order to makes 'us' look more positive and 'them' negative. The handbook deals with some of the possible ways in which facts can be documented, suffering of every victim and survivor acknowledged and dignity of every person respected. The idea for publishing this handbook was born on my way to Canada where I was supposed to present the process of dealing with the past in Croatia and the neighbouring countries, from my own perspective, to colleagues from both North and South America and other continents. Interest into our experiences, expressed by ancestors of children who were taken from Indigenous peoples’ villages near Vancouver, with "the best intentions of better education", as well as by artists from Colombia who work with traumatized families of the killed and missing and by priests who are preparing a truth commission in Burundi, but also positive reactions from Bjelovar, Pakrac, Osijek and Sarajevo, encouraged us to write this handbook. National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society also recognized the importance of learning through exchange of experiences and supported this handbook. Texts in the handbook describe experiences of people who have, for decades, been trying to find ways in which to talk about hidden, unpleasant facts and crimes committed in their neighbourhood. The authors have gathered in initiatives such as that for the return of the name of the Victims of fascism square in Zagreb or Antiwar campaign Croatia and started organizations such as Centre for peace studies, Delfin, Pravda and MIRamiDA Centre. In an attempt to initiate the process of dealing with the past and to establish a fact-based truth about the war and contribute to shifting public discussion from the level of dispute about facts towards a dialogue on interpretations, these organizations founded Documenta – Centre for Dealing with the Past (hereafter Documenta). It was established in order to systematically deal with violence inherited in the period since the beginning of the Second World War until today. The key reason for making this effort was experience in silencing and forging war crimes and other war events in the period from 1941 until 2000, which has affected the recent history of Yugoslavia, but also of post-Yugoslav states and societies. During their work, the authors have opened questions which are, at the same time, difficult and important for everyone. Experiences which they have documented cannot be implemented universally, but can perhaps serve as an inspiration for opening up the dialogue about the past and about the adequate ways of remembering those killed in different locations. Since they are aware that there are no uniform recipes for thinking about the past and selecting the way in which to discuss difficult issues, they sometimes start from their own position and position of their own family, and sometimes point to global problems. The order in which you choose to read the text is not important. Regardless of whether you choose to first read about personal, family, institutional or social sphere, the texts will lead you to taking a stand towards violence in all spheres. Considering the fact that we still live in exclusive societies in which security is often based on closing oneself in a group of people of the same nationality and/ or those who think alike and who do not refrain from radical nationalism, ideological exclusiveness, degrading people of different nationality, making fun of ideological opponents or denying facts on committed war crimes, our starting point, in the work we do, was acknowledgement and emphasis of human dignity of those who were killed, suffered or were abused, regardless of the side on which they found themselves due to their belonging, geography, choice or political beliefs. The same values may also be your own starting point. Since respect of dignity and equal rights is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and their rights, as stipulated in the Preamble and Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted at the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. While a struggle for recognition of rights which are stipulated in this declaration is still going on, we can ask ourselves how many more decades will need to pass in order for the ‘new’ rights to truth, just court proceedings, reparations and guarantee to non-repetition of crimes, which are being affirmed within the U.N. in the past ten years, to become a worldwide recognized standard? Even if we are talking about a century of advocacy, we should not be discouraged by the slowness of changes, because taking a stand to violence on an every-day basis means a lot to those who have been hurt. Even in times of dictatorships, the destiny of those who suffered becomes visible only when others, outside one’s family circle, recognize it as such. Building mutual trust after a war and conflicts is connected to the acknowledgement of victims’ past suffering, and in Croatia and other post-Yugoslav countries, contemporaries of three cycles of violence, the Second World War, post-war violence over political opponents and the 1990s wars, are still alive. The decision on how far in the past one should go when conducting research is not an easy one. In social processes of dealing with difficult past violence, it is not easy, and sometimes even impossible, to single out only one group of crimes, especially in disputes which touch upon traumatic experiences of participants themselves. Every initiative for deepening a dialogue about the past will decide what would be a relevant period in the context of its own country. In countries with the history of colonialism or slavery, it will, for example, be necessary to take into account more layers of history. In this handbook, the authors primarily use examples from Croatia regarding three layers of the past, the contemporaries of which are still alive. In other countries, it will perhaps be possible to focus only on the last cycle of violence or it will be necessary to look back a couple of centuries back, for example to the period when colonization started. In our work thus far, it has become clear that personal, family, institutional and social dealing with the past is not only important for the protection of rights of those groups which suffered during wars or political violence, but is also important for the process of civilizational development of a society as a whole. Open, inclusive societies in which horizontal communication about all, even unpleasant topics, is encouraged, are more successful in every respect. When working through a trauma, through dealing with the past, we affirm inclusiveness and openness of a society, as a general good which should be protected. However we engage in the process of dealing with the past, it will demand from us to condemn spreading of hatred. Regardless of whether we decide to have private conversations within our own homes or to critically examine the most important decisions adopted by government institutions, the first step we make could be to condemn violence. It is less important whether this condemnation will influence our relationship with ourselves and our closest family members or whether we find a way to express this condemnation by critically commenting on the world around us. What is important is this essential step of condemning all forms of violence. The scope of your intervention, research or action will depend on your ability to include and motivate others. It is not important whether the initiative will start from one person’s wish to document his/her memories for future generations1 , from a conversation between two worried individuals2 or from years-long preparations of experienced organizers for founding a researchdocumentation centre which would systematically monitor trials and document human losses. In moments of revolt caused by a general lack of respect for values that you find important, decisions on taking action will be made in a second, while decisions on starting new organizations may take several years. But before diving into an examination of methodology, the question that should first be asked is the one about the purpose of dealing with the past. One of the possible answers, which has emerged throughout the work of human rights organizations, is that dealing with the past lessens the burden of the past, which stalls complete development of societies affected by war and political violence. Only by revealing systematically hidden and silenced information on human suffering and by gradually accepting facts about committed crimes are we creating a chance for personal and social healing, as well as providing space for realizing the rights of young people on learning about fact-based history. Emina Bužinkić, Igor Roginek, Goran Božičević, Ana Bitoljanu and Vesna Teršelič are the editors of this handbook. It contains texts on factography of suffering, recoding of personal memories, preparation of public advocacy and war crimes trials monitoring. We believe the handbook to abound in different styles, approaches, language and experiences and hope you will find it helpful.
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Ovaj priručnik nudi samo neke od mogućih praktičnih odgovora na pitanje kako produbiti raspravu o prošlosti u polariziranim društvima gdje je poricanje i/ili relativizacija zločina svakodnevna praksa u kojim a se puno češće od pitanja drugom čovjeku "Što se dogodilo tebi i tvojim najbližima, kako vam je bilo?", čuje povik "Jedna je istina!". Stranice pred vama napisane su za sve koji sumnjaju i propituju jednostavnu crno bijelu sliku 'bolje prošlosti', eventualno podložnu dotjerivanju i prekrajanju kako bi 'nas' pokazala u što ljepšem svjetlu, a 'njih' ocrnila. Priručnik se bavi nekim mogućim putovima prema stvaranju podrške za dokumentiranje svih činjenica, priznavanju patnje svake žrtve i preživjelog te uvažavanju dostojanstva svakog čovjeka. Ideja za priručnik rodila se na putu u Kanadu gdje sam trebala predstaviti proces suočavanja s prošlošću u Hrvatskoj i susjednim zemljama kolegama iz obje Amerike i drugih kontinenata, iz svoje perspektive. Zanimanje za naša iskustva, kako nasljednika djece koja su "s najboljim namjeram a boljeg obrazovanja" otimana iz plemenskih rezervata u blizini Vancouvera, tako i umjetnika koji u Kolumbiji rade s traumatiziranim obiteljima ubijen ih i nestalih te svećenika koji u Burundiju priprema osnivanje Komisije za istinu, kao i pozitivne reakcije iz Bjelovara, Pakraca, Osijeka i Sarajeva, ohrabrilo nas je na pisanje. Tekstovi opisuju iskustva ljudi koji su desetljećima tražili načine progovaranja o skrivenim neugodnim činjenicama i zločinima iz susjedstva. Autori/ce su se okupljali u inicijativama poput prosvjeda za vraćanje imena Trgu žrtava fašizma u Zagrebu ili Antiratnoj kampanji Hrvatske i pokretali organizacije poput Centra za mirovne studije, Delfina, Pravde i MIRamiDA Centra. Neki od njih su u nastojanju da potaknu proces suočavanja s prošlošću i ustanovljenje činjenične istine o ratu te pridonesu pomicanju javne diskusije s razine prijepora o činjenicama prema dijalogu o interpretacijama, osnovali su Documentu - Centar za suočavanje s prošlošću (u daljnjem tekstu Documenta) kako bi se sustavno bavili nasilnim naslijeđem od početka Drugog svjetskog rata. Ključni je razlog ovoga nastojanja iskustvo prešućivanja i falsificiranja ratnih zločina i ostalih ratnih zbivanja od 1941. do 2000. koje je utjecalo na noviju prošlost, kako Jugoslavije tako i post-jugoslavenskih država/društava. U tijeku svoga rada otvarali su svima mučna i važna pitanja. Iskustva koja su zabilježili nisu univerzalno primjenjiva, ali možda mogu poslužiti kao inspiracija za otvaranje dijaloga o prošlosti i primjerenim načinima pamćenja ubijen ih u različitim sredinama. Svjesni da u razmišljanju o naslijeđu prošlosti i izboru načina otvaranja teških pitanja u javnosti nema recepata, ponekad su polazili od sebe i vlastite obitelji, a ponekad su upirali prstom na globalne probleme. U vašem izboru neće biti važan redoslijed. Bez obzira hoće li vaše prvo pitanje dotaknuti osobni, obiteljski, institucionalni ili društveni krug, vodit će vas k zauzimanju stava prema nasilju i to u svim sferama. Pošto još uvijek živimo u isključivim društvima u kojima se sigurnost prečesto gradi na zatvaranju u skupine sunarodnjaka i/ili sumišljenika kojima nije stran ni radikalni nacionalizam ni ideološka isključivost ni ponižavanje ljudi druge nacionalnosti, kao ni ismijavanje ideoloških oponenata ili negiranje činjenica o počinjenim zločinima, u svom smo radu kretali od priznavanja i isticanja ljudskog dostojanstva ubijenih, stradalih, zlostavljanih, bez obzira na kojoj su se strani podjela zatekli zbog svoje pripadnosti ili geografskog usuda ili pak zbog svoga izbora i političkih uvjerenja. Možda s te vrijednosne platforme krenete i vi. Budući da je priznanje urođenog dostojanstva te jednakih prava temelj slobode, pravde i mira, sva ljudska bića rađaju se slobodna i jednaka u dostojanstvu i pravima, stoji u Preambuli i Članku 1. Opće deklaracije o ljudskim pravima, usvojene i proglašene na Općoj skupštini Ujedinjenih naroda 10. prosinca 1948.. Dok je još uvijek u tijeku borba za priznavanje u nju zapisanih prava možemo se zapitati koliko će nam desetljeća trebati da ‘nova ’ prava na istinu, pravični sudski postupak, reparacije i garanciju neponavljanja zločina, koja se u tijeku posljednjih desetak godina postupno afirmiraju unutar Ujedinjenih naroda, postanu standard priznat od strane većine svjetskih država? Čak i ako je riječ o stoljeću zagovaranja, ne bi nas smjela obeshrabriti sporost pomaka, jer svakodnevno zauzimanje stava prema nasilju puno znači povrijeđenima. Čak i u vrijeme diktature sudbina stradalog postaje vidljiva kad je prepoznaju drugi, izvan neposrednog obiteljskog kruga. Izgradnja povjerenja poslije rata i sukoba neodvojivo je povezana s priznavanjem patnje žrtava iz prošlosti, a u Hrvatskoj i drugim post-jugoslavenskim zemljama još uvijek žive suvremenici tri vala nasilja, Drugog svjetskog rata, poslijeratnog vremena nasilja nad političkim neistomišljenicima i ratova devedesetih. Odluka koliko daleko u prošlost će vas odvesti propitivanja i istraživanja za koja se odlučite nije jednostavna. U društvenim procesima prorade teškog naslijeđa nasilja nije lako, a katkada ni moguće, izdvojiti samo jednu grupu zločina, posebno u prepirkama koje dotiču traumatična iskustva samih sudionika. Svaka će inicijativa za produbljivanje dijaloga o prošlosti odlučiti što bi bilo relevantno razdoblje rada u kontekstu svoje zemlje. U zemljama s naslijeđem kolonijalizma ili ropstva bit će primjerice neophodno voditi računa o još više slojeva prošlosti. U ovom priručniku autori/ce će pretežno koristiti primjere iz Hrvatske u vezi tri sloja prošlosti čiji su suvremenici još uvijek živi. U drugim će se zemljama možda biti moguće usredotočiti samo na zadnji val nasilja ili će pak biti neophodno pogledati i nekoliko stoljeća unatrag, primjerice u vrijeme početaka kolonizacije. U dosadašnjem radu pokazalo se da osobno, obiteljsko, institucionalno i društveno suočavanje s prošlošću nije važno samo zbog zaštite prava pripadnika skupina stradalih u ratovima ili političkom nasilju, već je značajno i u procesu civiliziranja društva u cjelini. Otvorena, ukljućiva društva u kojima se ohrabruje horizontalna komunikacija o svim pa i neugodnim temama su uspješnija u svim pogledima. Proradom traume kroz suočavanje s prošlošću afirmiramo ukljućivost i otvorenost društva kao opće dobro koje treba štititi. Kako god krenuli u proces suočavanja s prošlošću to će od nas iziskivati osudu raspirivanja mržnje. Hoćemo li odabrati kao svoj put unutarnje razgovore u tišini vlastitog doma ili kritično sagledavanja najvažnijih odluka vladinih institucija, prvi bi korak dakle mogla biti osuda nasilja. Hoće li ta osuda prije svega utjecati na naš odnos prema sebi i našim najbližima ili ćemo pronaći način da je izrazimo u kritičkom komentiranju funkcioniranja svijeta oko nas, manje je važno od bitnog koraka osude svakog nasilja. Doseg vaše željene intervencije, istraživanje ili akcija ovisit će o vašoj mogućnosti uključivanja i motiviranja drugih. Nije nevažno hoće li inicijativa krenuti od želje jedne osobe da zabilježi svoja sjećanja za buduće generacije, razgovora dvoje zabrinutih ili od dugogodišnjih priprema iskusnih organizatora na pokretanje istraživaćko-dokumentacijskog centra koji će moći sustavno pratiti suđenja i dokumentirati ljudske gubitke. U trenucima revolta zbog gaženja vama važnih vrijednosti odluke o nekim akcijama će biti donesene praktično u trenu, a za odluke o pokretanju novih organizacija možda će trebati više godina. No prije nego uronimo u propitivanje metoda, ipak je na mjestu pitanje svrhe, čemu uopće suočavanje s prošlošću? Jedan mogući odgovor, koji se iskristalizirao u radu organizacija za ljudska prava, je da bi smanjili teret prošlosti koji onemogućava pun razvoj stvaralaštva u ratom i političkim nasiljem obilježenim društvima. Tek otkivanjem sustavno sakrivanih i prešućivanih podataka o stradanju te postupnim prihvaćanjem činjenica o zločinima stvaramo priliku za osobno i društveno iscjeljenje, a i prostor za ostvarivanje prava mladih na učenje povijesti utemeljene na činjenicama. Priručnik su uredili Emina Bužinkić, Igor Roginek, Goran Božičević, Ana Bitoljanu i Vesna Teršelič. Sadrži tekstove o faktografiji stradanja, snimanju osobnih sjećanja, priprem i javnog zagovaranja, i praćenju suđenja. Priručnik smatramo bogatim u njegovoj različitosti stilova, pristupa, jezika i iskustava. Nadamo se da će vam biti od pomoći.
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Una dintre cele mai tragice pagini din istoria celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial este fără îndoială Holocaustul suferit de poporul evreu. În cele ce urmează, dorim să prezentăm o serie de fonduri documentare păstrate în arhivele statului din Odessa (Ucraina), în care se vorbeşte despre situaţia populaţiei evreieşti deportată în regiunea Transnistriei, despre situaţia ghetourilor organizate de autorităţile române care administrau zona în acea perioadă şi multe alte aspecte legate de viaţa populaţiei evreieşti din teritoriul dintre Bug şi Nistru în anii celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial.
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The study examines the holocaust in the Moravian villages of Svatobořice and Strážnice using the micro-historical view. The transformations of the locality of Baráky in Svatobořice as well as the talk by the survivor Ruth Felix about her life reflect the „great history“ of the 20th century. The study draws information on both sites from the oral sources stored in the Visual History Archive (University of Southern California). The presentation of the field research concerns the locality of Baráky (Svatobořice – Mistřín), the former Roma settlement near Svatobořice, the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery in Strážnice and the house of Ruth Felixová on Bzenecká Street.
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Štúdia skúma metódou mikrohistorickým pohľadom holokaust v moravských obciach Svatobořice a Strážnice. Premeny lokality „Baráky“ vo Svatobořicicích ako i rozprávanie preživšej Ruth Felixovej o jej živote sú odrazom „veľkých dejín“ 20. storočia. Štúdia čerpá informácie k obom miestam z orálnych prameňov uložených v archíve svedectiev Visual History Archive (Univerzity v južnej Kalifornii). Prezentácia z terénneho výskumu sa týka lokality Baráky (Svatobořice – Mistřín), bývalej rómskej osady pri Svatobořicích, synagógy a židovského cintorína v Strážnici a domu Ruth Felixovej na Bzeneckej ulici.
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The theatre makers often deal with the issue of the Holocaust, but predominantly they talked about the past and memory with adult audiences. Attempts to tell young audiences about the Holocaust are therefore a novelty in Polish theatre. Two performances: “Huljet, huljet” of Teatr Figur in Krakow and “Rutka” of the Arlekin Puppet Theatre in Lodz, both presenting the life of Jewish children in ghettos are examples of activities undertaken in this trend. Both of them are based on local stories related to the cities where theatres operate. “Huljet, huljet”, directed by Dagmara Żabska and Alla Maslovskaja, refers to the Krakow ghetto, Rutka, directed by Karolina Maciejaszek, to the Lodz ghetto. The common element for both shows constitutes making children the main characters and presenting life in a closed neighborhood from their perspective. The analysis of the indicated performances made it possible to check how the creators constructed the stories about the childhood experience of the ghetto and by what means they tried to convey this experience to the young audience. In this context it is worth to mention the importance of considerations done by Frank Ankersmit, in particular the categories of "historical experience" and "experience about the past".
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For half a century already, Vasily Semyonovich Boykachev is carrying pain in his heart like a splinter in his body. As a fifteen-year-old boy, he was deported to Germany for forced labor. He worked in a war factory where bullets were manufactured. He never told anything about it, not even to the wife and son who are closest to him. A strong feeling of guilt towards his wife, who was a front-line doctor, towards relatives, fellow villagers and simply unknown people because of his forced participation in the human-killing work always tormented him like a terrible nightmare. He thought with a pounding heart that the deadly bullets, which his child labor had also been involved in making, could have injured or killed his future bride, or killed or maimed his compatriots who were fighting for their homeland. For half a century he asks the Lord God to forgive him and take away this sin from him...
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