Victims of the Lithuanian Jewish Genocide Honoured in Paneriai
On 23 September, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Vidmantas Verbickas paid tribute to the memory of Lithuanian Jews killed during the Nazi occupation at the Memorial of the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews, along with the highest officials of the Lithuanian state, representatives of the Jewish community, state institutions, diplomatic corps and the public.
The National Memorial Day for the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews is observed on 23 September to honor the victims killed in the Paneriai forest and commemorate the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto by the Nazi occupation authorities and local collaborators in 1943. This date has become an important part of Lithuania’s historical memory and serves as a reminder of one of the most painful tragedies in the 20th-century Lithuanian history. During the Holocaust, the vast majority of the Jewish community in Lithuania was murdered—we lost approximately 190,000 of our fellow citizens.
The annual commemoration at the Paneriai Memorial not only pays tribute to the memory of the victims, but also reminds us of the need to preserve historical truth and pass it on to future generations. The tragedy of the Lithuanian Jewish community is an integral part of the history of Lithuania, and fostering its memory is an important duty of our society.
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