Concert to Establish Europe’s Day Remembrance of the Righteous

KJ, 16 November 2016
On 30th March, the Assembly Hall of the Royal Castle in Warsaw was the venue of a ceremony promoting the European Day of Remembrance of the Righteous initiative. The call for its establishment came from the Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide Committee (GARIWO), an Italian non-profit partner in The Polish Righteous – Recalling Forgotten History Project.

The Day of Remembrance of the Righteous, according to GARIWO, would take place on 6th March. Those to be honoured would be not only those recognised by Yad Vashem (i.e. those who, during World War II, provided help to Jews), but also those who, in other instances of genocide and totalitarianism, defended human dignity, helped victims and promoted the truth, despite official sanctions.

As the authors of the call write:

Today, we also consider as Righteous those who opposed the Armenian genocide, those who offered help to the victims of the wars in Rwanda and Cambodia, and during the ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. Those who defend human dignity and freedom within totalitarian regimes, and those who did not hesitate to talk openly of the criminal system in the Gulags, also deserve to be recognised as Righteous. Their courage contributed to the unification of Europe.

The concept of Righteous, taking on in this context a universal meaning, can apply to many people who actively opposed regimes in various European countries and around the world. The Day of Remembrance would promote the moral conduct of the Righteous, recalling their heroic acts.

The ceremony, in the Royal Castle, began with an address by Gabriel Nissim, President of GARIWO, the instigator of the initiative. There followed a concert by Janusz Olejniczak, the famous pianist, who played the works of Fryderyk Chopin. Following the concert, the actress, Maja Komorowska, read fragments of texts by Primo Levi, Mark Edelman, Vaclav Havel and Adam Michnik who was present at the event. As a finale, Italian pianist, Gaetano Liguori, played his own jazz repertoire.

The event was organised by the Committee for Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide (GARIWO), in conjunction with the Warsaw’s Dom Spotkań z Historią and the Warsaw Royal Castle.

The petition to establish the European Day of Remembrance of the Righteous has already been signed by, among others, Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Władysław Bartoszewski.To sign the petition, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/gariwo?sk=app_119340141514038

Comitato per la Foresta dei Giusti – GARIWO (The Committee for Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide) is an Italian non-profit organisation, the promoter of establishing Gardens of the Righteous around the world, similar to the Garden at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

Translation: Andrew Rajcher