International Holocaust Remembrance Day

It is estimated that about six million European Jews lost their lives over the course of the war. Entire communities, often constituting the majority of many towns' population, were destroyed. People died in ghettos, death camps, concentration camps and labour camps; they died of starvation, of diseases, in mass or individual executions. Today, the memory of this genocide perseveres through thousands of graves, monuments and other sites of martyrdom.

Many towns in Poland will hold ceremonies commemorating the murdered and organise various lectures and concerts. As every year, several hundreds of people will gather at the monument located in the former Auschwitz II–Birkenau camp. The ceremony will be attended by former Auschwitz prisoners and other survivors of the Holocauts, representatives of Polish government authorities and guests from other countries, including a large delegation from the Knesset.

A session called “Reflections on Auschwitz – remembering the past, looking into the future” will be held in Kraków. It will be attended by parliament members from several countries, including Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Spain, Israel, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Italy.

In Warsaw, the main ceremony will start at 5:30pm and will be held at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes. After the ceremony, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews invites everyone to Lena Piękniewska's concert called “Lullabies to the eternal dream”, an event alluding to a farewell ritual. Inhabitants of the Polish capital will be reminded of the tragic fate of their former Jewish neighbours by a “phantom tram”, marked with the Star of David, which will roam main streets of Warsaw between 12am and 6pm.

In Rzeszów, an ecumenical prayer for Holocaust victims will be held at 10am at the Jewish cemetery on Rejtana Street. Another commemorative event – a mass in St. Adalbert and Stanislaus Parish Church – will take place at 6pm.

Various events connected to the Holocaust Rememberance Day will also be held in Jarosław, Łódź, Wrocław and other towns. They will be organised by central and local authorities, higher education institutions and schools, museums, religious associations, social organisations, and private parties. Gołda Tencer (Shalom Foundation) underlines that the victims of the Holocaust can be commemorated by anyone – all it takes is to light a candle in a window at 6pm. “The memory of those who suffered so much has to burn in our souls like a lit candle. It is each human's individual responsibility to make sure the light in their consciousness never goes out” - says Gołda Tencer.

Source: press releases