Following the decision of the United Nations on 1 November 2005, countries throughout the world will mark International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust on 27 January. As a sign of solidarity with other countries marking the International Remembrance Day, the Israeli government will hold a special Cabinet meeting at Yad Vashem on Thursday, 26 January 2006. On the same day, Yad Vashem will open a new exhibition, “Montparnasse Deporte” in the presence of the diplomatic corps.
During the Cabinet meeting, members of the government will receive a report on antisemitism around the world and will discuss the renovation of the Jewish exhibition at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. The Chairman of the Directorate of Yad Vashem will participate in the Cabinet meeting and accompany government ministers on a special tour of the new Holocaust History Museum.
“Montparnasse Dcportc - The End of l’Ecole de Paris” presents the artwork and life stories of Jewish artists from Paris, most of whom were murdered in the concentration camps. Approximately 170 works are displayed in the exhibition, together with photographs and original documents. The exhibition is a tribute to more than 60 artists from l’Ecole de Paris whose lives and art were cut short by the Nazis.
Yad Vashem launches International Holocaust Remembrance Day online resource center
In advance of the first UN-endorsed International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem has launched a new mini-site, accessible from its homepage. The mini-site is aimed at providing information on the Holocaust, as well as helping schools and other organizations around the world prepare to mark the day. The site will be a centralized resource center for all relevant materials on the main Yad Vashem website.
The mini-site includes the following elements:
- Suggested educational activities to mark the day;
- 18 video testimonies taken from Yad Vashem’s new Holocaust History Museum, which provide a broad cross-section of testimony regarding the events and personal experiences of survivors from all over Europe;
- A number of online exhibitions, including The Auschwitz Album, No Child’s Play, Private Tolkatchev at the Gates of Auschwitz, and Montparnasse Déporté - The End of L’Ecole de Paris;
- A map with links to information about educational activities and resources for Holocaust commemoration in different European countries;
- UN resolution calling for an International Holocaust Remembrance Day;
- A link to the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names.
As 27 January marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the mini-site will also have a link to a photograph taken at the camp following its liberation on 27 January 1945. The photograph, taken by a soldier in the Red Army, depicts 13 children, seven of whom have since been identified, and two of whom have given special interviews to mark the day.