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At the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto at the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry on 20 September, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius stressed the need to always remember the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust and to teach its lessons to the future generations.

“We cannot go back in time, but we can try to make sure this never happens again. We should follow the example of the Righteous Among the Nations, because they rescued Jews who were persecuted. Their deeds, the choice to save Jews at high personal risk show the power of humanity,” L.Linkevičius said.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister reminded the participants that the Israeli President Shimon Peres, who recently paid a visit to Lithuania, wished to create a better future friendship and cooperation between the two peoples without forgetting the past.

“I believe in this and I make every effort to ensure that the diplomatic service contributes to this common objective. We should not only teach the truth about the Holocaust in Lithuania to future generations, but also respect our fellow-countrymen who speak Yiddish, Polish, Belarusian or Russian as their native language. It is important that we create our own future together with the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Litvaks from Israel and many other countries in the world who love the Jerusalem of the North,” the Foreign Minister said.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister congratulated the Chair of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Faina Kukliansky on the organization’s 25th anniversary and wished her good luck with the upcoming IV World Litvak Congress to be held on 22 September. 

During the event, Aloyzas Stasiulevičius opened an exhibition “The Vilnius Drama”.  The art world values the displayed canvas “The Dance” as one of the best paintings revealing the tragedy of the Vilna Ghetto.

L.Linkevičius drew the participants’ attention to the strong civil position of the artist, inviting them to hear the message of this forceful art.

The Chair of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Faina Kukliansky also delivered a speech at the commemoration. The event was attended by Dr. Mario Silva, the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), representatives from Lithuanian authorities, people in culture, educators and foreign partners, who actively contribute to initiatives to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust and to preserve the Jewish cultural heritage.

The 23rd of September was declared the National Memorial Day for the Genocide of the Lithuanian Jews to commemorate the victims of the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto in 1943. In 2013, the Seimas (Parliament) of Lithuania designated 2013 as the Year of Remembrance of the Vilna Ghetto. In cooperation with the Lithuanian Jewish Community, many public organizations and foreign partners, the Government is implementing a broad programme to honour the memory of the victims of the Vilna Ghetto. 

Lithuanian diplomatic missions also hold commemorations of the Holocaust and organise presentations of the Jewish history and culture in Israel, the U.S.A., the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Belgium, the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU, and in many other countries.