Italian President at Yad Vashem

The President was guided through the Holocaust History Museum by Director of Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto

President Mattarella took a special interest in the story of the Pacifici family from Genoa, Italy, whose children were rescued during the Shoah by Catholic clergy

The President and his daughter visited the Hall of Names, a "virtual tombstone" for the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust

President Mattarella was honored to rekindle the Eternal Flame in the Hall of Remembrance

The President was warmly greeted by Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev

30 October 2016

During his visit to Yad Vashem on Sunday 30 October, 2016, Italian President H.E. Mr. Sergio Mattarella 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, the President said:

"The wound of the Holocaust remains open for all of us who respect life and cherish human values. Every victim is a loss for humanity... Yad Vashem belongs not only to Israel and the Jewish people, but to the entire world."

In the Yad Vashem Guest Book, the President wrote: "The Shoah poses a fundamental question about the absolute evil and darkness that existed, about the abyss in the heart of Europe that swallowed up millions of innocent people. [The victims] ask us not to forget... As Primo Levy wrote, 'Understanding is impossible, knowing is necessary.' We must remember, so that it will never happen again."