THE SHOAH IS COMMEMORATED IN LONDON
On 30th September 2013, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania together with the Western Marble Arch Synagogue organised an event to commemorate the Shoah in Lithuania and to mark the 70th anniversary of the liquidation of Vilnius Ghetto. Representatives of the London diplomatic corps, governmental bodies and non-governmental organisations, Jewish and Lithuanian communities, culture and business organisations took part in the commemoration.
The Ambassador of Lithuania Mrs Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė in her opening speech acknowledged the work of the Lithuanian Government in highlighting the scale of the Holocaust in Lithuania as well as in educating the society about the tragedy. The Ambassador encouraged participants to foster greater ties with Lithuania and work together in strengthening credible, growing and open Europe. "Continuing to teach the young generation about the Holocaust is of the utmost importance as this provides the foundations for eradicating any kind of anti-Semitic sentiments", said the Ambassador.
Rabbi Lionel Rosenfeld led the prayers and in his speech elaborated on the history of Vilnius Gheto and his connection with Lithuania. “We are delighted to work together with the Embassy in promoting education and tolerance”, said the Rabbi.
The commemorative concert was performed by Martynas Levickis (accordion), Dalia Dėdinskaitė (violin) and Gleb Pyšniak (cello) and included the music of David Zehavi, Anatolijus Šenderovas, Béla Bartók, George Frideric Handel, Johan Halvorsen, and other composers.
