News

On 29 August, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Mantvydas Bekešius is participating in commemorative events in Šiauliai and the March of the Living in Molėtai to commemorate the massacre of the Lithuanian Jews that began 75 years ago, when Nazi Germany invaded Lithuania.

In Šiauliai, the Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister participated in an unveiling ceremony of bricks known as “stumbling stones” by a famous German artist Guenther Demnig. The artist installs special commemorative plaques on cobblestones, in sidewalks in front of buildings to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust that lived, studied or worked in these houses.

“The Soviet system was often silent about history, however, we have lived in an independent Lithuania for a quarter of a century and we need to learn about our past. It is important to continuously educate youth, to teach them history and to remind them about the cruel fate of our fellow-citizens – the Jews. I wish these “stumbling stones” to be installed also in another cities and towns. The communities cannot forget this crime. We cannot let this happen again,” said Bekešius.

In Šiauliai, the bricks were laid to commemorate the long-term deputy mayor of Šiauliai Samuelis Petuchauskas, who was killed in Paneriai, and the doctor Urija Rozovskis, who, during the children campaign in the Šiauliai ghetto voluntarily left for Auschwitz along with his little patients.

The memorial plaques can be found throughout eighteen European countries and hundreds of cities. There are about 60,000 such stones all around the world. Demnig continues to implement his project in Lithuania on the initiative of the Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights.

Bekešius thanked Demnig for bringing his project to Lithuania and participated in the unveiling ceremony. Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister also thanked the Šiauliai City Municipality, the Mayor Artūras Visockas and the Lithuanian Jewish Community for cooperation.

Markas Petuchauskas, the son of Samuelis Petuchauskas, the Chairman of the Šiauliai Jewish Community Josifas Buršteinas and the Mayor of the city Artūras Visockas also gave speeches at the ceremony.

About 8,000 Jews lived in Šiauliai before the Second World War.

The March of the Living in Molėtai stands out among many other events, which commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. Held on the initiative of the world Jews and Lithuanian citizens, this year the March of the Living is held in Molėtai to commemorate the brutal murder of the Jews on 29 August in 1941 in Molėtai.

Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister honours the victims of the Holocaust and will march in today’s procession from the Molėtai synagogue to the site of the mass massacre of the Jews.

The event in Molėtai is also attended by the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and the Ambassador of Israel to Lithuania Amir Maimon.

An exhibition and an information conference in the memory of the Jews in Molėtai will also be held at the Molėtai Art Gallery, an unveiling ceremony of a monument by Davidas Zundelovičius will follow, as well as an opening ceremony of an exhibition by the Sholem Aleichem Gymnasium about the cleaning up of the old Jewish cemetery in Molėtai.

Bekešius together with the Lithuanian Jewish Community Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky also visited Molėtai on 10 June on the invitation of the Mayor Stasys Žvinys to discuss the preservation and maintenance of the Jewish heritage, the old Jewish cemetery and the Jewish mass murder site.