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Distinguished guests, participants of the March of the Living

Representatives of the Jewish Community

History, Education and Culture promoters

Your Excellences, Ambassadors

Counterparts, MP’s diplomats, journalists

I am pleased and honoured to personally welcome all those who are not indifferent to Jewish history. Most of you have considerably contributed to the preservation of our memories and have stored not only dry figures and facts about our co-citizens and compatriots, our friends and neighbours destiny.

The history of Lithuania is a collective experience of people who have lived together for centuries. This is the experience precious not only to us, the citizens of Lithuania.

Both in good times and bad times, this historical experience unites all the people that in one way or another are related to Lithuania, in spite of their place of residence, the language they speak, the prayer house they go to ask for God’s mercy. 

Recently at Yad Vashem I bowed my head down before the Holocaust victims and mourned the indescribable tragedy of Jews in Lithuania and Central and Eastern Europe.

Yesterday, representatives of Lithuania and Israel commemorated Shoa victims in Paneriai. We felt the sorrow and the pain of the Litvaks and their relatives, the survivors of that indescribable horror.

Let me make use of this occasion to extend my sincere gratitude to Head of the Association of Jews from Vilna in Israel Mickey Kantor, who is with us today, for the most sincere reception in Tel-Aviv, for her love of Lithuania, concern and her continuous effort to organize already the 4th March of the Living in Lithuania.

I do hope that our mutual experience, our respect for the victims of the Holocaust, the historical memory and raising the awareness of general public and, especially, that of the young generation shall help us to fulfil the sacred oath “Never again”.

We will be able to fulfil this oath when historical memory and mutual support will be nourished and shared by all people of good will.

There are more and more people in Lithuania who are determined to seek the truth relating to the horrible history of the Holocaust and nourish the cultural heritage of Lithuanian Jews. Thanks to the effort and diligence of scholars, historians, artists, museum staff, pedagogues, painters, musicians, theatre performers, and other professionals, the missing parts in the history are being filled in in our society.

There is a better understanding that if it were not for the contribution of the Jews, who love Lithuania, and other peoples, who live or had lived there, Lithuanian culture would not be as rich as it is now. We perceive that our capital city Vilnius, which was once a regional centre of Jewish spiritual life and was called the Jeruzalem of Lithuania until the catastrophic Nazi occupation, would be not as impressive and original if it were not for its multicultural heritage.

I think that Lithuania is precious not only for Lithuanians who live here, it is also precious for Litvaks from such cities, towns and shtetls of Lithuania as Vilnius, Kaunas and Butrimonys, Nemenčinė, Kėdainiai, Plungė, Žagarė who left for many countries in the world or settled down in their historic land of Israel. It makes no sense for us to argue about history. The only thing we can do is let history unite us instead of separating, in spite of the peaks and pitfalls.

Tolerance, culture, trade and knowledge exchange, and especially respect for the ethnic and religious diversity, constitute the most precious heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that we cherish and want to pass on to the younger generations.

Since 2009, our contemporary youth - students of Vilnius Art Academy and Belarusian State University - have been exploring the unique heritage of Litvaks, the surviving synagogues in Belarus that were built from the 17th century through the 19th century, when the Jewish culture flourished in the Great Duchy of Lithuania. This exhibition is part of a long-term project, which is financed under the Development Cooperation Programme of the Foreign Ministry and implemented by the Centre for Jewish Culture and Information. This joint project of neighbouring countries’ students will be further implemented this year, as it will be presented by Dr Mickūnaite.   

Excellent international cooperation with different partners, first of all, Israel and the U.S., active participation of Lithuania in the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research that brings together different professionals, diplomats and politicians from 28 countries across the globe as well as in the work of the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania, is already bearing fruit.

Therefore, in a free Lithuanian democracy the Holocaust that was kept in silence in the Soviet years is not any more “alien pain”. I believe that a comprehensive program of commemorative events dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania, which was implemented by the Seimas (Parliament) and the Government of Lithuania in 2011, has contributed considerably to the maturity of our society. 

Let me invite you to familiarize yourselves with the work of our academic community and let me wish you to have a pleasant time together.

I encourage all of us to go into a meaningful discussion on what we can and have to do together to promote free thought and strong moral attitude that help liberate from stereotypes imposed by totalitarian experience that impede a better understanding of history and present day.    

Mutual understanding and cooperation and support in case of need, in these days of unrest in contemporary world are necessary for everybody’s sake, for the sake of peace and safe future.

Thank you for your attention