03 January 2006
On November 1, 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating January 27 as “International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.” The Ministerial Committee on Symbols and Ceremonies, chaired by Minister Dan Naveh, today adopted a resolution on how January 27 would be marked in Israel. The Committee adopted the recommendations of the inter-office working group it established under the chairmanship of Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate. The Committee noted that Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel is 27 Nissan, as has been the practice in Israel since the early years of the state. The Committee adopted the working group’s recommendation to, on January 27, focus on educational activity that will address the international significance of Holocaust remembrance.
Yad Vashem events planned for January 26 - 27, 2006 are:
At Yad Vashem:
- The International School for Holocaust Studies has prepared lesson plans and curriculums that are being distributed to schools across the country to help teachers prepare for January 27. The lesson plans will also be uploaded onto the Ministry of Education and Yad Vashem’s websites. In addition, Education Ministry supervisors and managers from throughout the country will be at Yad Vashem for a special seminar on January 26.
- Opening of Montparnasse Déporté. New exhibit in Yad Vashem’s Exhibitions Pavilion focuses on the art - and fate - of L’Ecole de Paris. The opening will take place on January 26, in the presence of members of the diplomatic corps and the Minister of Education.
- The International Institute for Holocaust Research will hold a seminar on January 26, on Karl Jasper’s book, The Question of German Guilt, coinciding with the book's publication in Hebrew by Yad Vashem and Magnes Press.
- A special mini-site on Yad Vashem’s website will contain information focusing on the significance of the date in the greater context of the Holocaust. The site includes links to educational resources and workshops on the Holocaust and antisemitism, as well as some 20 videos of survivor testimony from the Holocaust History Museum, and ideas for ceremonies, lesson plans and more.
New York:
- Yad Vashem’s “No Child’s Play” exhibit will be on display at the United Nations in New York beginning January 25, as part of the UN’s commemoration of the Holocaust. The exhibition tells the story of the struggle of children to hold on to life during the Holocaust.
- Academic Advisor to Yad Vashem, Prof. Yehuda Bauer will speak at the UN session devoted to the Holocaust on January 27th.
Europe:
- Launch of the joint OSCE/Yad Vashem Holocaust Commemoration Day Guidelines for Educators. The launch of the guidelines will take place in Brussels on January 27 with the participation of the Belgian Foreign Minister, Ministers of Education, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev, diplomats and other distinguished guests.
- In Spain, a Yad Vashem exhibit on children in the Holocaust will open to coincide with January 27.
Detailed information on the above will be issued separately.
