News

To mark the Vilnius Ghetto Memorial Year, the Lithuanian capital should this fall host a global congress of Litvaks, solemn ceremonies to pay tribute to victims, scientific conferences, as well as make films and open exhibitions.

The events are envisaged in a plan of actions, which is yet to be approved by the government.

According to the draft plan, the fourth global congress of Litvaks dedicated to the 70-year anniversary of Vilnius ghetto liquidation should take place on Sept. 20-25. A solemn ceremony to pay tribute to victims of the Holocaust should also take place at the Paneriai Memorial on these days, along with a Life Saving Cross awards ceremony at the President's Office and a discussion on Holocaust by diplomats residing in Lithuania.

The program also includes memorial events in St. Catherine's Church and the Vilnius Lele Theater, a concert of Yiddish songs. A film should be made about Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara who rescued Jews in Vilnius during the World War II.

Before the war, Jews made about a third of the population of Vilnius, which was a key center of the Jewish culture. Established in the Old Town of Vilnius in September of 1941, the Vilnius ghetto was liquidated on Sept. 23-24 of 1943.

Source: BNS