UNITED NATIONS TO OBSERVE HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY ON 28 JANUARY 2008

Week-Long Events Include Concert, Exhibits, Educational Briefings, Film Screenings

On the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, the United Nations stands in solidarity with Holocaust survivors and victims’ families around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

In a message on the occasion, he added:  “It is not enough to remember, honour and grieve for the dead.  As we do, we must also educate, nurture and care for the living.  We must foster in our children a sense of responsibility so that they can build societies that protect and promote the rights of all citizens.  We must instil in them a respect for diversity before intolerance has a chance to take root, and a sense of vigilance in case it threatens to do so.  We must give them the courage and tools they need to make the right choices and to act in the face of evil.”

Throughout the coming week, the United Nations Department of Public Information will organize a number of events around the world to remember the victims of the Holocaust and underscore the value of human life.  This year’s observance focuses on the need to ensure the protection of human rights for all, and coincides with the sixtieth anniversary year of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

At United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States Congressman Tom Lantos, himself a Holocaust survivor, will deliver a keynote address on the topic of “Civic Responsibility and the Preservation of Democratic Values”, at the memorial ceremony and concert to be held in the United Nations General Assembly Hall on 28 January 2008.

Other speakers will include Srgjan Kerim (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), President of the sixty-second session of the General Assembly, Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, and Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information (see agenda below for details).

The ceremony will also feature a concert with the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Tel Aviv University, in cooperation with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the world renowned maestro Zubin Mehta.  The webcast of the ceremony will be archived at www.un.org/webcast. 

Holocaust Remembrance Day will begin with the joint launch of a new United Nations Holocaust Remembrance postal stamp, issued simultaneously for the first time, with a national stamp by the Israel Postal Company.  The two stamps bear the same design.

On Wednesday, 30 January, the Department of Public Information will also unveil the first permanent exhibit on the Holocaust and the United Nations.  The exhibit, produced by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, presents an overview of the tragedy in the context of World War II and the founding of the United Nations.  It will be seen by the 400,000 visitors who visit the United Nations Headquarters annually.  In preparation for the exhibit opening, Elizabeth Edelstein, Director of Education from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City, briefed the United Nations tour guides on the history of the Holocaust to further their understanding of this watershed event.

Around the world, United Nations offices are organizing events to mark the Day of Commemoration.  In Brazil, an observance was held on 25 January with the President of the country, Jose Inacio Lula da Silva, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, César Maia.  In Madagascar, a permanent exhibit on the Holocaust will be unveiled at the United Nations Information Centre.  The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme is also coordinating a video conference for students with the United Nations information centres in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and Lomé, Togo, and educators at the “Memorial de la Shoah” in Paris.

At the United Nations Office in Ukraine, a round-table discussion will be organized -– also on 28 January -- in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ukrainian Holocaust Study Centre.  In Tokyo on 29 January, an educational workshop targeting young students will focus on the links between the Holocaust and human rights issues.  Also, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum provided information materials in English and Spanish to a number of United Nations information centres for use in their reference libraries.

To help carry out its educational mission, the Department of Public Information will participate in a panel discussion with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in the afternoon of 28 January to highlight the importance of Holocaust education, organized by B’nai B’rith International. 

The Department of Public Information will also mark Holocaust Remembrance Day with two exhibits in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby in New York on the noble attempts to save Jews from certain death by the Nazis during the Second World War.  The first, titled “BESA:  A Code of Honor, Muslim Albanians who Rescued Jews during the Holocaust”, by photographer Norman Gershman, is authored and curated by Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Albania to the United Nations. 

A second exhibit, “Carl Lutz and the Legendary Glass House in Budapest”, is co-sponsored by the Carl Lutz Foundation and the Permanent Missions of Switzerland and Hungary.  Carl Lutz, the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary, issued certificates of emigration to place tens of thousands of Jews under Swiss protection.

Further details on the memorial ceremony and a complete list of the week-long agenda of events can be found below.  These events are being organized by the Department of Public Information’s Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, which was established under General Assembly resolution 60/7 to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance and education and to help prevent future acts of genocide.

For more information please contact:  Advocacy Unit, Outreach Division, United Nations Department of Public Information, e-mail:  holocaustremembrance@un.org, and fax:  212 963 0536.

For media accreditation, please visit:  www.un.org/media/accreditation.  Gary Fowlie, Chief, Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, United Nations Department of Public Information, tel.:  212 963 6937, fax:  212 963 4642.

Agenda of United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Activities 2008

Thursday, 17 January 2008

6–8 p.m.:  Opening -- Gennady Dobrov Art Exhibition “Memorial Drawings:  Remembering the Holocaust Victims and Their Liberators”, (sponsored by Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, organized in cooperation with UNIC Moscow) will be mounted on the conference room level (1B) 17 to 31 January 2008.  By invitation only (contact:  ruslanba@yahoo.com).

Monday, 28 January 2008

11-11:30 a.m.:  Press Launch -- Holocaust Remembrance Postal Stamp.  Moderated by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.  Open to UN press corps and accredited media only, Room S-226 (contact:  Mann@un.org).

2:30-4:30 p.m.: Holocaust Remembrance Postal Stamp Ceremony -- Museum of Jewish Heritage, A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, organized by United Nations Postal Administration and Philatelic Service of Israel.  By invitation only (contact:  gray3@un.org).

1:30-4:30 p.m.:  B'nai B'rith International panel discussion and film screening -- “Holocaust Education in Action”, moderated by Eric Falt, Director, Outreach Division/UNDPI; with Sandra Roberts, Director/Teacher of the Paper Clips Holocaust Project, Whitwell Middle School, Tennesee; Katie Easterly, Junior Whitwell High School, Paper Clips Project participant; and Hélène-Marie Gosselin,Director, UNESCO New York Office, 2:45–4:30 film screening of the “Paper Clips Project”.  Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium (contact:  rsvpun@bnaibrith.org).

7-8:30 p.m.:  Holocaust Remembrance Day Memorial Ceremony and Concert -- keynote speaker:   US Congressman Tom Lantos (Holocaust survivor) on “Civic Responsibility and the Preservation of Democratic Values”, featuring the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Tel Aviv University, in cooperation with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta.  Hosted by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information in the United Nations General Assembly Hall.  Diplomatic community, non-governmental organizations, public pre-registration required.  Doors to the United Nations open at 5:30 p.m.  UN press corps tickets available through Media Accreditation.  (Fowlie@un.org) (Contact:  advocacyunit@un.org)

Tuesday, 29 January 2008

12:30–2 p.m.: Briefing -- “Rescue during the Holocaust:   Denmark, Slovakia and Hungary”, Dr. Rob Rozett, Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.  Open to United Nations grounds pass holders and pre-registered guests only.  UN Conference Room C (contact:  fazio@un.org).  CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS.

6–8 p.m.:  Exhibit Opening -- “BESA:  A Code of Honor, Muslim Albanians who Rescued Jews during the Holocaust” organized by the Department of Public Information, authored and curated by Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Albania to the United Nations, and a second exhibit “Carl Lutz and the Legendary Glass House in Budapest” organized by the Department of Public Information and co-sponsored by the Carl Lutz Foundation and the Permanent Missions of Switzerland and Hungary to the United Nations.  United Nations Visitor’s Lobby (contact:  wichmann@un.org).

Wednesday, 30 January 2008 

6-7 p.m.:  Permanent Holocaust Exhibit Inauguration on the third floor of the Conference Building, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The exhibit chronicles a brief history of the Holocaust in the context of World War II and the founding of the United Nations.  The exhibit is produced by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme.  Open to United Nations grounds pass holders and invited guests only (contact:  fazio@un.org.)

Thursday, 31 January 2008

6–9 p.m.:  Screening of Academy Award-winning documentary movie released by Warner Bros. Pictures -- “Into the Arms of Strangers:  Stories of the Kindertransport”.  Opening remarks will be made by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, and Ambassador Karen Pierce of the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations.  The film tells the story of 10,000 Jewish and other children who were rescued by the British and placed into foster homes and hostels just prior to the outbreak of World War II.  A discussion will follow with film producer Deborah Oppenheimer and David Marwell, Ph.D., Director, Museum of Jewish Heritage, A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.  Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.  Open to United Nations grounds pass holders and pre-registered guests only (contact: prudhommem@un.org).

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For information media • not an official record