07 September 2023
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan is visiting Germany for a second time today to attend a ceremony inaugurating a special stamp issued by Germany's Ministry of Finance honoring Yad Vashem's 70th anniversary and the opening of the photography exhibition entitled "Survivors: 75 Faces of Life after the Holocaust". The visit also serves as a platform to further enhance Yad Vashem's initiatives with German authorities in the fields of Holocaust education and remembrance.
The visit holds great significance as Chairman Dayan first visited the Platform 17 Memorial at Grunewald Station in Berlin to honor the memory of the thousands of Jews of Germany who were cruelly deported from this platform to their deaths east during the Holocaust.
Dayan visited the memorial together with two Holocaust survivors whose portraits are featured in the Survivors exhibition, Amb. Collete Avital and Maurice Gluck, will pay their respects at this location.
"We remain continuously committed to preserving the memory of the Jews who suffered and were murdered during one of humanity's darkest chapters," Dani Dayan remarked.
A key element of Chairman Dayan's visit to Germany was the signing of a joint declaration with the German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser. This agreement further solidifies Yad Vashem's partnership with the German federal police, following an initial agreement signed with the German Federal Ministry of the Interior in May 2022. The new agreement aims to establish continuous cooperation, enabling Yad Vashem to conduct regular programming with federal police, security staff, and administrative personnel within the German Ministry of Interior. This dynamic partnership will facilitate the coordination of joint initiatives that advance the shared goals of Holocaust education and commemoration.
Lastly, Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan will attend an event at the Ministry of Finance, where the Minister of Finance will unveil a special stamp to honor the 70th anniversary of Yad Vashem. The stamp, featuring an image of the Yad Vashem's Hall of Names serves as a testament to Yad Vashem's unwavering commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and promoting its lessons for future generations. Simultaneously, the courtyard outside the Ministry of Finance will host the opening of the joint exhibition titled "Survivors: 75 Faces of Life after the Holocaust." Created with renowned photographer Martin Scholler, this exhibition offers a profound glimpse into the lives of Holocaust survivors and celebrates their resilience and spirit. Holocaust survivors Amb. Avital and Gluck participated in the Schoeller's Survivors project will take part in a panel discussion at the ceremonial event at the Ministry of Finance.
Chairman Dani Dayan emphasized the profound significance of the location for temporarily displaying this unique exhibition on the site of the former headquarters of the infamous Hermann Göring, stating:
"The fact that this once villainous headquarters is now being used to commemorate survivors of the Holocaust and honor Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, whose mission is to maintain the memory of the six million victims of the Nazis and their collaborators is a powerful testament to the importance that Holocaust remembrance occupies both in Germany and worldwide. It represents our commitment to ensuring that the horrors of the past are never repeated, and that the legacy of the victims lives on through education, research and remembrance activities such as these."
