Remembering the Past – Shaping the Future

1. Remembering the Past – Shaping the Future

2. Yad Vashem • Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, was established in 1953 by an act of the Israeli Knesset. Since its inception, Yad Vashem has been entrusted with documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period, preserving the memory and story of each of the six million victims, and imparting the legacy of the Holocaust for generations to come through its archives, library, school, museums and recognition of the Righteous Among the Nations.Located on Har Hazikaron, the Mount of Remembrance, in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem is a vast, sprawling complex of tree-studded walkways leading to museums, exhibits, archives, monuments, sculptures, and memorials.

3. The Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations • In 1963, Yad Vashem embarked upon a worldwide projectto grant the title ofRighteous Among the Nations to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jewsduring the Holocaust.  To this end, Yad Vashem set up a public committee headedby a retired Supreme Court justice, which is responsible for granting thetitle.  This project is the only one of its kind in the world that honors,using set criteria, the actions of those individuals whorescued Jews during the war.  The Righteous program and the trees planted on theAvenue of the Righteous Among the Nations have received world coverage, and theconcept of Righteous Among the Nations coined in the Yad Vashem Law has become auniversal concept and an important symbol.  As of January 2006, 21,310 peoplehave been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. In addition, YadVashem has been developing a comprehensive encyclopedia - The Lexicon of the Righteous Among the Nations - that will eventually include the stories of all the Righteous Among the Nations.  The Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, inwhich marble plaques have been engraved with the names of the rescuers accordingto country, was inaugurated in 1996.  Ceremonies in which the title of RighteousAmong the Nations is granted are held in the Garden.

4. Valley of the communities • The Valley of the Communities highlights the names of thousands of Jewish communities destroyed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators and the few that suffered but survived in the shadow of the Holocaust. The task of the architects was to create a monument to ruin, an act which required the "con"-struction of "de"-struction. Therefore nothing was built above the ground. The Valley of the Communities was excavated out of the earth. It resembles a concentration of huge open graves gaping in the ground. It is as if what had been built up on the surface of the earth over the course of a millennia - a thousand years of Jewish communal life - was suddenly swallowed up. It is as if a great catastrophe occurred and that rich world which was Jewish life before the Holocaust suddenly disappeared from sight, suddenly sunk out of existence.

5. The Children’s memorial • This unique memorial, hollowed out from an underground cavern, is a tribute to the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who perished during the Holocaust. Memorial candles, a customary Jewish tradition to remember the dead, are reflected infinitely in a dark and somber space, creating the impression of millions of stars shining in the firmament. The names of murdered children, their ages and countries of origin can be heard in the background.

6. Dream When I grow up and get to be twenty I’ll travel and see this world of plenty. In a bird with an engine I will sit myself down, Take off and fly into space, far above the ground. I’ll fly, I’ll cruise and soar up high Above a world so lovely, into the sky… And so, delighted by all the world’s charms, Into the heavens I will take off and not have a bother, The cloud is my sisters, the wind is my brother. Avramek Kopelowicz, Murdered in Auschwitz at age 14

7. The Hall of Names • The Hall of Names at Yad Vashem is the Jewish People’s memorial to each and every Jew who perished in the Holocaust – a place where they may be commemorated for generations to come.The main circular hall houses the extensive collection of “Pages of Testimony” – short biographies of each Holocaust victim. Over two million Pages are stored in the circular repository around the outer edge of the Hall, with room for six million in all.The ceiling of the Hall is composed of a ten-meter high cone reaching skywards, displaying 600 photographs and fragments of Pages of Testimony. This exhibit represents a fraction of the murdered six million men, women and children from the diverse Jewish world destroyed by the Nazis and their accomplices. The victims’ portraits are reflected in water at the base of an opposing cone carved out of the mountain’s bedrock.At the far end of the Hall is a glass screen onto which Pages of Testimony are projected. From here one may enter a computer center and search the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, with the assistance of the Hall of Names staff. The Center also offers blank Pages of Testimony and survivor registration forms.

8. Remembrance days For OSCEparticipating States

10. Remembrance days France 27 January, 16 July Italy 27 January, 16 October Liechtenstain 27 January Poland 27 January Romany 9 October Slovakia 9 September

11. Italy • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January, 16 October • Historical Background: On the morning of January 27, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Only some 7650 prisoners survived to be liberated. Over the course of WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. On October 16, 1943, under the German occupation government, a large-scale hunt for Rome’s Jews began. 1,015 Jews were arrested that morning, and within two months an additional 7,345 Jews were found and deported from Northern Italy.

12. Liechtenstein • Holocaust Remembrance Day for the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.

13. Poland • Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. On July 16-17, a major aktion (deportation) took place in France: 12,000 Jews were rounded up in Paris and locked up in the Velodrome d’Hiver sports stadium for days without food, water, or toilets. Thousands of Jews were arrested and deported to concentration camps in the east.

14. Poland • Museums Krakow - Old Synagogue Krakow - Galicia Jewish Museum Warszawa - Museum of the History of Polish Jews

15. Romania • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 9 October • Historical Background: On 9 October, 1941 the deportations of Jews from the Romanian regions of Bukovina and Bessarabia to Transnistria began.

16. France • Holocaust memorial day of the Nazi crimes • Days of Remembrance: 27 January, 16 July • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. On 16-17 July 1942, a major aktion (deportation) took place in France: 12,000 Jews were rounded up in Paris and locked up in the Velodrome d’Hiver sports stadium for days without food, water, or toilets. Thousands of Jews were arrested and deported to concentration camps in the east.

17. France •Museums Bouxwiller - Musee Judeo-Alsacien de Bouxwiller Cavaillon - Synagogue and Jewish Museum of ComtadinMusee Juif Comtadin Paris - Museum of Jewish Art and HistoryMusee d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaisme

18. Slovak Republic • Day of Victims of the Holocaust and Racial Violence • Day of Remembrance: 9 September • Historical Background: On 9 September 1941, the fascist Slovak government approved the “Jewish Codex," containing 270 amendments, which defined Jews on racial grounds and required them to wear the yellow Jewish Badge. This was the last step before the deportation of Slovak Jews to concentration camps. • Museums Bratislava - Museum of Jewish Culture, Slovak Jewish Heritage

19. Austria • Day of Remembrance against Violence and Racism in Memory of the Victims of National Socialism • Day of Remembrance: 5 May • Historical Background: On 5 May 1945, the 11th US Armored Division liberated the concentration camp at Mauthausen in Austria. More than 15,000 bodies were found and buried in mass graves in the next few days. In the following weeks 3,000 of the liberated prisoners died of malnutrition, disease or exhaustion. • Museums Eisenstadt - Austrian Jewish Museum Hohenems - Judisches Museum Hohenems Vienna - Jewish Museum Vienna Judisches Museum der Stadt Wien

20. Belgium • National day of commemoration of the Holocaust • Day of Remembrance:8 May • Historical Background:On 8 May 1945, Belgium was liberated from the Nazi occupation. May 8 symbolizes les V-dagen (V day), which was Sir Winston Churchill’s victory sign. V is also the first letter of the Dutch words Vrede (peace) and Vrijheid (freedom) and Verdraamhei (tolerance). • Museums Brussels - Jewish Museum of Belgium

21. Bulgaria • Day of the Holocaust and Saving of the Bulgarian Jews(Day of Holocaust Victims) • Day of Remembrance: 10 March • Historical Background: On the night of 10 March 1943, the Commission for Jewish Affairs released the 20,000 Bulgarian Jews who had been arrested for deportation. A week later, Dimitar Peshev and the 43 members of the Parliament drew up the Declaration for the Defense of the Bulgarian Jews, with public support. King Boris III then persuaded the German authorities not to deport the country’s Jews.

22. Croatia • Day of Remebrance of the Holocaust and for the prevention of crimes against humanity • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. During WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.

23. Czech republic • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. During WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. 27 January has been the official date of commemoration in the Czech Republic since 2003. • Museums Boskovice - Greater Synagogue Prague - Jewish Museum in Prague

24. Denmark • Auschwitz Day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps Museums • Copenhagen - Danish Jewish MuseumDansk Jodisk Museum

25. Estonia • Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and crimes against humanity • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.

26. Finland • Victim of Persecution Memorial Day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. During WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.

27. Germany • Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nazi crimes • Days of Remembrance: 27 January, 9 November • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. 9 November, 1938 is the date of Kristallnacht – “Night of Broken Glass” – in which anti-Jewish rioting broke out throughout Germany. The 'broken glass’ refers to the Jewish shop windows that were smashed by the rioters. Hundreds of synagogues and Jewish homes were burnt down. Some 30,000 Jews were deported to concentration camps, and 90 Jews were murdered that night.

28. Germany • Museums Augsburg - Jüdisches Kulturmuseum Berlin - Neue Synagoge Berlin - Centrum Judaicum Berlin - Jewish Museum Berlin Judisches Museum Buttenheim - Levi Strauss Museum Creglingen - Creglingen Jewish Museum Dorsten - Jewish Museum of Westphalia Judisches Museum Westfalen Emmendingen - Judisches Museum Emmendingen Frankfurt - Jewish Museum Frankfurt Judische Museum Furth - Jewish Museum of Franconia Goppingen - Jewish Museum in Jebenhausen Munich - Judisches Museum Munchen Munich - Association of European Jewish Museums

29. Greece • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. • Museums Athens - Jewish Museum of Greece Crete - Etz Hayyim Synagogue, Hania Thessaloniki - JewishMuseum of Thessaloniki

30. Hungary • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 16 April • Historical Background: On 16 April 1944, the first Jewish ghetto was established in Hungary, in the town of Munkaćs (in eastern Hungary). Half a million Hungarian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. • Museums Budapest - Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives

31. Israel Day of Remembrance:The day begins at sunset on the 27th of the Jewish month of Nisan and ending the following evening, according to the traditional Jewish custom of marking a day. • Historical Background: The 27th of Nisan commemorates the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943. It is also important to note that on the Jewish calendar, Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day falls soon after the Passover holiday (in which Jews remember their bondage in Egypt) and a few days before Israel Independence Day.

32. Italy •Museums Bologna - Jewish Museum of Bologna Ferrara - Museo Ebraico di Ferrara Florence - Jewish Museum of Florence

33. Latvia • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 4 July • Historical Background: On 4 July 1941, the Nazis burnt down the Riga Choral Synagogue, with many Jews trapped inside. July 4 is Latvia's national Holocaust Memorial Day. In this date, the people of Latvia remember and honor the victims of genocide against the Jews. On October 3, 1990, the Latvian Parliament instituted this date as a national day of commemoration as part of the law detailing Holiday and Commemoration Days. • Museums Vilnius - Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum

34. Luxembourg • Day of National Commemoration • Day of Remembrance: 10 October • Historical Background: 10 October 1941 marked a symbolic victory for the people of Luxembourg. The occupying Nazis issued a population census that was skewed  to legitimize their annexation of Luxembourg. On the form, the Nazis asked three questions aimed at determining language, nationality and cultural origins. The Nazis forbade the people of Luxembourg from responding in Luxemburgish. The national resistance movement managed to convince most of the population to defiantly reply to these questions with the phrase “Dreimol letzeburgesch” (“three times Luxembourgish”). This was a psychological victory for the resistance and an independent Luxembourg.

35. Norway • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. During WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. • Museum Trondheim - Jodiske Museum

36. Sweden • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. • Museums Stockholm - Jewish Museum in Stockholm

37. Switzerland • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background: On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. The Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.

38. The Netherlands • The national remebrance • Day of Remembrance: 4-5 May • Historical Background: May 4, 1945 is the day before the “Bevrijdingsdag”, May 5 1945 when the Second World War ended. • Museums Amsterdam - Jewish Historical Museum Joods Historisch Museum

39. UK • Holocaust memorial day • Day of Remembrance: 27 January • Historical Background:On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. During WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps. The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001, and has been commemorated on 27 January every year since. The national event for Holocaust Memorial Day has been hosted in different locations around the UK– it was held in London (2001), Manchester (2002), Edinburgh (2003) and Belfast (2004). In 2005 the national event will return to London.

40. UK • Every year there is a theme for the day; these themes are intended to help mark Holocaust Memorial Day by providing a focus through which people can draw on wider materials and examine the continuing relevance of the Holocaust. This year’s theme paper states: “The sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps presents one of the greatest opportunities to show our respect for the survivors of Nazi persecution and mass murder, and to listen to what they can tell us about the best and the worst of human behavior.” This year the focus is on survivors and their testimonies. • Museums London - Ben Uri Gallery, Jewish Museum of Art London - Jewish Museum Manchester - Manchester Jewish Museum

41. Poland   5,941 Netherlands4,726 France2,646 Ukraine2,139 Belgium1,414 Hungary671 Lithuania630 Belarus564 Slovakia460 Germany427 Italy391 Greece265 Yugoslavia(Serbia)121 Russia120 Czech Republic115 Croatia105 Latvia100 Austria85 Moldova71 Albania63  Romania52 Romania   52 Switzerland38 Bosnia34 Norway26 Denmark21 Bulgaria17 Great Britain(incl.Scotland)13 Sweden10 Macedonia10 Armenia10 Slovenia6 Spain3 Estonia3 China 2 USA2 Brazil  2 Chile1 Japan1 Luxembourg1 Portugal1 Turkey1 Georgia(Gruzia)1 Righteous among the nations(per country and ethnic origin)

42. Antol Vladimir & Anka Balala Stefan & Rosa & Daughters Ludmila Hanka & Mariska Balat Frantisek & Maria & Son Francko Bandzakova-Kuchar Anna Bartakova Anna Bem Ernst & Magdalena Blaha Mararetha Boharczyk Pawel Bresky Frantisek Brno Jan & Wife Capos Jan Cmerickova Maria Cernak Jan & Anna & Son Jan Cernakova-Noskova Luba & Parents Chomowa Maria & Daughter Olga Sramkova Civanova Anna & Children Maria & Ludevit Csiky Juraj Daubner Anna Dobrovodsky Martin & Betti Dudasek Magda & Tomas Dudinski Peter Duran Anton & Maria & Children Maria, Anton & Jozef Durec Stefan & Maria Fabik Jan & Eva Fargas-Cenek Vincent Ferancova Katarina Ferenczy Zuzanne & Daughter Aranka Filus Pavel & Alzbeta Frank Stefan Gabor Jozef & Maria Gasparova Julia Gondzar Ladislav & Maria Gorog Frantisek & Maria D. Jolana (Jirout) Grosserova Vlastimila Gucman Frantisek Hajtas Geza & Klara Heriban Jozef Herman Gustav & Jozefa & Children Gustav & Vilma Hladik Martin & Rozalia Holatko Anton & Wife Holatko Joseph & Anna Hroncak Jan & Maria Hronec Pavel & Katarina Hronec Pavel & Paulina Hrubesova Katerina Hucko Jan & Eva Jaksy Joseph Jamborova Anna Jancik Michal & Maria Kacir Lujdevit & Margita Kaminski Karol Kleinova Eva & Son Vladimir Kleinova Eva & Son Vladimir Knap Michal Knosko Michael & Wilma Koch Karl Kochol Gustav & Wife & Children Victor, Ludevit, Vlado & Milan Kocun Stefan Kolik Jozef & Anna & Son Rudolf Koricova Antaon & Pavla Kroslak Jan & Son Adam Kuchar Jozef & Rozalia Kuna Vladimir Kur Alexander & Maria Lebdovick Jan & Zofia & Children Emilia, Anna & Margita Lebedev Mikulas Liska Jan & Koloman Lysy Stefan & Kristina Majercik Michal & Anna Maradik Ondrej & Maria & Children Martin & Elena Markov Josef & Ema Matejik Jan & Katerina & Children Jan, Pavel, Anna & Ludwig Mednansky Rudolf & Katharina & Children Ondrej, Rudolf & Marischka Miartus Vojtech & Anna Mhocko Jan & Zuzana Mhocko Stefan & Annie Mikulas Ondrej & Maria Minarova Maria Modla Jan & Maria Motaj Ivan Mozes Katarina & Children Stefan & Erna Mullner Edith Nandory Jan & Alzbieta Nataly Julius Nebesky Samuel & Anna & his Parents Nemcovic Michal & Magdalena & Son StefanNemcovic Jozef & Maria Nemec Agata & Velimir Niznanska-Zahnova Valeria Righteous among the nations in Slovakia

43. Gisi Fleischmann • In the spring of 1942, the deportation of Slovakia’s Jews to Poland began. In view of the deportations, a group of activists – the Working Group - organized an effort to stop them. The Group was headed by Gisi Fleischmann, one of the heads of the Women’s International Zionist Organization there, and Michael Dov Weissmandel, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, along with public figures from various streams – Zionists, Orthodox and assimilated Jews. • In its efforts to halt the deportations, the Working Group adopted a policy of bribing key officials in the Slovakian administration and the German representation. In the course of negotiations over the summer of 1942, the Group paid ransom money to Dieter Wisliceny, Eichmann’s delegate in Slovakia. For various considerations, the deportations were halted in the autumn of 1942, but the Working Group believed this was a result of their bribes, and this encouraged them for the future. • The pause in the deportations convinced the Working Group that bribery was essential. As a result, Rabbi Weissmandel conceived the “Europa Plan,” - the saving of European Jewry through the payment of ransom. The Group’s negotiations with the SS on this matter lasted from November 1942 until August 1943. During this period, Group members contacted Jewish organizations in Europe as well as representatives of the Land of Israel, headquartered in Istanbul, in an effort to receive their agreement to the Plan and to mobilize the necessary funds. The negotiations with the Germans came to naught and turned out to be just another SS deception • Despite their disappointment at the failure of the Europa Plan, the members of the Working Group did not relent intheir efforts to save Jews. News about the murders in Poland induced them to track the fate of the deportees and to help those fleeing from Poland to Slovakia with hiding places and false papers. At the same time, they attempted to spread the information about the murders in the hope of thwarting the anticipated deportation of Hungarian Jewry. Their efforts failed and some of the members were arrested. At the end of 1944, their leaders, Rabbi Weissmandel and Gisi Fleischmann, were deported to Auschwitz. • Pages from two detailed reports of the murders in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, based on information provided by four Jewish inmates who escaped in the spring of 1944. Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler reached Slovakia in May 1944. Based on their testimony, a member of the underground Working Group compiled a report that contained a warning regarding preparations being made in the camp to murder Jews from Hungary and Czech Lands. An additional report was given in June 1944 by two other escapees, Czesław Mordowicz and Arnošt Rosin, that the murder of Hungarian Jewry was beginning. The reports were passed to Rabbi Weissmandel and to other members of the Working Group. They sent them to various persons and agencies in Hungary and Switzerland, calling upon the Allies to bomb Auschwitz and the railway lines leading there, and requesting that the Red Cross visit the camp. When the reports arrived in the West and the information contained in them was disseminated, the free world learned about the true nature of the Auschwitz camp.