News

On 27 January, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with representatives of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, politicians, diplomats, and other guests, marked the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

"We cannot change the past and prevent the worst crime against humanity of the 20th century, but we must work together to preserve the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, to courageously fight the manifestations of the ongoing hatred and to do our utmost to make #NeverAgain part of our daily lives," said the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Vidmantas Verbickas.

Faina Kukliansky, Chair of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, and Shelly Hugler Livne, Ambassador of Israel to Lithuania, also addressed the guests of the event.

During the event, an exhibition "Books do not grow on trees’ prepared by the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum, was opened. This exhibition highlights how Vilnius Jewish traditions, national identity, and historical memory were shaped, passed down from generation to generation and preserved to the present day. On display in the  exhibition are the most valuable artifacts of the Judaica collection of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum.

Excerpts from an authentic testimony of life in the Vilna Ghetto – 'Togbukh fun Vilner geto' (The Diary of the Vilna Ghetto) by a talented teenager, Yitskhok Rudashevski, were also read aloud. The book was presented by its translator, Prof. Dr. Mindaugas Kvietkauskas.

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated 27 January as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.