Yad Vashem events around the world marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day January 27, 2007

On November 1, 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating January 27 as “International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.” Yad Vashem is marking the second annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day in a variety of ways:

• Yad Vashem's website in Farsi is now online. The website includes 20 historical chapters - including dozens of photos - arranged chronologically, from the rise of the Nazis to power until the post-war trials. The site also includes a poem by Abramek Koplowicz, a Jewish boy murdered in Auschwitz at age 14. “Every year, nearly 20,000 people from Muslim countries, including Iran, visit the Yad Vashem website,” said Avner Shalev, Chairman of Yad Vashem. “We believe that making credible, comprehensive information about the Holocaust available to Persian speakers can contribute to the fight against Holocaust denial.” The material was translated and edited by Menashe Amir.

• Yad Vashem exhibit on antisemitism at Prime Minister’s Office: An exhibit on modern antisemitism will open in the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday, January 28, before the weekly Cabinet Meeting. The exhibit is comprised of panels from a more comprehensive display that will be exhibited in Germany this summer.

• Yad Vashem’s “Private Tolkatchev at the Gates of Hell,” exhibit to open in Dresden (Germany): The exhibit is comprised of photos from the Auschwitz Album, [information on the Auschwitz Album] and sketches by Red Army soldier Zinovii Tolkatchev, drawn at the time of the liberation of the Majdanek and Auschwitz camps, and is accompanied by texts in English and German. The exhibit is a smaller version of an exhibit that appeared at the United Nations in New York during the special session marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January. The exhibit will be displayed in the Saxony State Parliament. Prof. Dr. Rita Sussmuth, chair of the German Friends of Yad Vashem and Joseph (Tommy) Lapid, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council will join the President of the Parliament, and other officials at the opening on January 28.

• Yad Vashem’s “No Child’s Play” exhibit to be displayed in Vienna (Austria): Yad Vashem’s traveling “No Child’s Play” exhibit will open at The United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna International Center (VIC) Rotunda on January 26. A special version of the exhibit in German has been produced for this event, and will be on display at the UN center in Vienna from 26 January - 2 February. The exhibition tells the story of the struggle of children to hold on to life during the Holocaust. [Information on the No Child’s Play Exhibit].

• Yad Vashem’s “No Child’s Play” exhibit to be displayed in Orleans (France): The traveling exhibit, in French, will be displayed in the CERCIL (Center for the research and documentation of the internment and deportation of the Jews of the Orleans region) center.

• Yad Vashem’s “Private Tolkatchev at the Gates of Hell,” exhibit in Montpellier (France): The traveling exhibit comprised of photos from the Auschwitz Album, and sketches by Red Army soldier Zinovii Tolkatchev, drawn at the time of the liberation of the Majdanek and Auschwitz, is in French, and displayed in the City Hall of Montpellier.

• “Flickers of Light” new online exhibit: Special online exhibit, highlighting the stories of six Righteous Among the Nations who helped Jews in Auschwitz. Includes the stories of the Righteous, photos, related links and lesson plans.

• UN Department of Public Information to Launch “Electronic Notes for Speakers” Website: On January 29 the United Nations will mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a ceremony in the General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters in New York. At the same time, the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) will launch an online web resource, developed by Yad Vashem and the Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education at the University of Southern California (SFI). The website will serve UN information centers staff across the globe, enabling users to enhance their understanding about this watershed event in world history. Accessible from Yad Vashem’s homepage, the new website features four SFI testimonies, augmented with a plethora of primary source materials, including original artifacts and photographs, authentic diary and letter extracts, encyclopedia and lexicon entries, educational resources and briefing notes from Yad Vashem’s vast archives and comprehensive databases.

• Yad Vashem/OSCE - ODIHR guidelines available in 11 languages: Developed for the first international Holocaust Remembrance Day 27.1.06, the guidelines for educators on how to prepare for Holocaust Memorial Days have been translated into 11 languages. Over the past year, the guidelines have been downloaded from the Yad Vashem website in great demand, and have also been distributed to educators attending intensive teacher-training seminars at Yad Vashem as well as in their own countries.