"Memory and responsibility. Let us keep these words in our minds as we send a thought and a prayer to the 6.000.000 souls sacrificed in the name of a sterile and dark ideology and let each of us responsibly decide his own personal course of action and his own, personal debt towards a better future. And we today, pilgrims in their memory, bow reverently over the ashes of all those who did not even deserve a grave with their name, to renew the promise NEVER AGAIN. To give, even in retrospect, some meaning to their tragic sacrifice."With these words, the representatives of the Israelite Community of Larissa sent a message in all directions on the afternoon of Thursday 23.1.2014 to prevent the repetition of the darkest and most tragic moment in the history of mankind, the Holocaust of the Jews, during the anniversary was held in Larissa, in the presence of local authorities and representatives of the Israeli Community from all over the country.
In an emotionally charged ceremony, which took place first in the Jewish Martyrs' Square with the laying of wreaths and then in the Synagogue, everyone emphasized that such commemorations should be held and at the same time, through information, the remnants of racism should be blown up.
DEPOSIT OF WREATHS. The event began in the Jewish Martyrs' Square - in the space that the city of Larissa has dedicated to its Jewish citizens, who were led to an unnecessary and martyr's death in the Nazi death camps - with a memorial service by the Rabbi of Larissa, Mr. Ilias Sabetai, and the laying of wreaths by representatives civil and military authorities, agencies and associations of the city, as well as Israeli Communities and Organizations.
The ceremony followed in the packed Synagogue of Larissa with speeches by the Regional Governor Mr. Costas Agorastos, the Deputy Governor Ms. Rena Karalariotou, the mayor of Larissa Mr. K. Tzanakoulis, the president of the Central Jewish Council of Greece Mr. Benjamin Albala, the president of the Jewish Community of Larissa Mr. Maurice Magrizo, while the keynote speaker of the event was the director of the Heart Surgery Clinic of the Erricos Dunan Hospital, Mr. Sotiris Prapas, who thanked the organizers for their invitation to speak about the Day of Remembrance, which he described as "significant not only for the Jewish community, but for all the nations of the world. We are all here to honor the memory of the victims, the memory that unites, that humanizes, that is a brake on intolerance and violence, a balm for the survivors who carry the burden of loss and mourning for years," he said.
[Source: Eleftheria Larissa23.1.2014]
Event for schools of Larissa
It is noted that on Tuesday, January 28, there will be an event dedicated to the Holocaust, addressed to the schools of the city, under the auspices of the Regional Directorate of Education of Thessaly. The Regional Directorate of Education of Thessaly participates for the third year in a row in the Holocaust Anniversary, with the organization of activities aimed at the youth, with the aim of raising their awareness of issues of racism and intolerance.
This year's event is organized by students from three schools, namely the Middle and High School Classes of Koilada, the 1st Gymnasium of Larissa and the 3rd Lyceum of Larissa, which already participate in the pan-European CROCUS program for the study of the Holocaust, as well as in other programs on racism and xenophobia.
[Source: LARISANEW.GR, January 23, 2014]