News

The Embassy of Lithuania in London cordially invites you to commemorate the National Memorial Day for the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews and to mark the 75th anniversary of the liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto by attending the opening of an exhibition of Vilna Ghetto Posters followed by a concert of songs from the Litvak musical heritage.

The event will take place on Thursday, 20th September 2018 at 6:30 pm for a 7:00 pm start at the Embassy of Lithuania, Lithuania House, 2 Bessborough Gardens, London SW1V 2JE.

The Exhibition will be introduced by Neringa Latvytė-Gustaitienė, Head of the History Research Department & Holocaust Exposition at the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum in Lithuania; the concert of Yiddish songs will be performed by the Lithuanian opera soloist Rafailas Karpis accompanied on the piano by Darius Mažintas.

The Commemoration will begin with opening remarks from the Ambassador of Lithuania H.E. Renatas Norkus and Dr Sheila Gewolb, Senior Vice President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, followed by the traditional candle-lighting ceremony held by Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE in memory of the Lithuanian Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

Light refreshments will be available after the event.

Registration is essential at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-national-memorial-day-for-the-genocide-of-lithuanian-jews-tickets-27523943857

A Unique Exhibition of Vilna Ghetto Posters

17 of the 241 posters that were discovered by the survivors of the Holocaust among the ruins of the Ghetto after the war became part of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum collection. The exhibition presents these posters in the Yiddish language with translations into English and Lithuanian, and complemented by quotes from the diary of librarian Herman Kruk with an explanatory context. The posters include announcements about cultural and artistic events, invitations to take part in sports competitions, encouragement for young people to attend lectures on physics, chemistry and literature, learn more about health, listen to a presentation on a medieval ghetto and attend a ceremony to mark the lending of the one hundred thousandth book from the Ghetto library. These posters are an invaluable testimony of spiritual resistance to the brutality of the Holocaust.

Concert of songs from the Litvak musical heritage

The concert will include songs based on lyrics created by the Vilnius Ghetto survivor Abraham Sutzkever, who was a member of the Young-Vilne - a group of young Jewish artists and writers in Vilnius before WWII. Rafailas Karpis and Darius Mažintas will also perform compositions by the contemporary Lithuanian-Jewish composer Anatolijus Šenderovas, who is widely known for dedicating his work to commemorate the heritage of Litvak culture.

Rafailas Karpis, a tenor soloist at the Lithuanian National Opera Theatre, has performed more than 30 roles in various opera productions in Lithuania and abroad. Having grown up in a Jewish family, he has always had a special interest in Jewish music, especially Yiddish songs, and has a wide repertoire of Yiddish songs composed by Litvak and Jewish composers.

Darius Mažintas has won a number of international piano competitions and participated in many prestigious music festivals. In addition to his solo career, Mažintas collaborates with orchestras, singers and violinists, as well as taking part in various outreach programmes aimed at promoting classical music to the young.