Yad Vashem commemorates 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The central theme for this year’s Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day is Defiance and Rebellion during the Holocaust: 70 Years Since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
The official Opening Ceremony for Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day will take place next Sunday in Warsaw Ghetto Square, Yad Vashem, Mount of Remembrance, Jerusalem.
Israel’s President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak and Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate, will kindle the Memorial Torch. Aliza Vitis-Shomron will speak on behalf of the survivors.
During the ceremony, Holocaust survivors will light six torches. First torch: the late Peretz Hochman (who passed away a few days ago; his widow Sima will light the torch), second torch: Otto Dov Pressburger, third torch: Dina Ostrover, fourth torch: Eliezer Eizenschmidt, fifth torch: Miriam Liptcher, sixth torch: Baruch Kopold and during the ceremony, short videos about each of the torchlighters will be screened.
The traditional memorial service will take place during the ceremony. The Rishon LeZion Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar will recite Psalms. The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yona Metzger will recite Kaddish. El Maleh Rahamim, a Jewish prayer for the souls of the martyrs, will be recited by Cantor Azi Schwartz.
Participants in the ceremony will include singer David D’Or and the Youth Movement Choir and the IDF Paratroopers’ Honor Guard. The ceremony will be broadcast live on television.
At 22:00 a special radio program entitled “Shoah, Heroism and Definitions” that will explore the essence of heroism during the Holocaust, will air on Galei Zahal. The program will be presented by Ehud Graff and is a joint program of Yad Vashem and Galei Zahal.
Yad Vashem will be closed to the public as of 12 noon on April 7 re-opening on Monday, April 8, at 8:00 a.m.
Yad Vashem calls on the public to fill in Pages of Testimony to commemorate the names of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Volunteers are available to help Holocaust survivors fill out Pages of Testimony. Yad Vashem is continuing the “Gathering the Fragments” campaign in an effort to rescue Holocaust-related documents, artifacts, photographs and art.
To donate material to Yad Vashem or to discuss a testimony, please email [email protected]
