President of Guatemala at Yad Vashem

28 November 2016

Director of the Hall of Names Dr. Alexander Avram (left) guided the President and his wife through the Holocaust History Museum

On the recreated Leszno Street of the Warsaw ghetto

In the Hall of Names, a symbolic "tombstone" to the Six Million Holocaust victims. At present, the names and biographical details of some 4.6 million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Shoah are housed here

At the exit of the Holocaust History Museum – a breathtaking vista of modern-day Jerusalem

The President laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance on behalf of the Guatemalan people in memory of the Holocaust victims

The President of Guatemala, H.E. Mr. Jimmy Morales, visited Yad Vashem on 28 November together with his wife Patricia Marroquín. Guided by Dr. Alexander Avram, Director of Yad Vashem's Hall of Names, the President toured the Holocaust History Museum, participated in a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance and visited the Children’s Memorial.

At the end of his visit, President Morales said: "A short while ago, I was honored to lay a wreath in memory of the Holocaust victims … the eternal flame in the Hall of Remembrance symbolizes the hope for a shining future. Humanity cannot surrender to actions that threaten its very existence. In the darkest and most painful moments in history, we always knew how to find the light to guide our ways. The Government of Guatemala joins the condemnation of the unacceptable acts undertaken during the Holocaust, when innocent people fell victim to persecution and destruction without any reason."

He wrote in the Yad Vashem Guest Book: "It is a great honor for me to be here today and to understand the pain, alongside the courage and valor you gained as a people and a nation."