The Region of Attica and the Israelite Community of Athens are co-organizing a series of events on Monday, 27 January 2014 honoring her ΗDay of Remembrance of Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust.
This year marks 70 years since the arrest and deportation of the Greek Jews of Athens and other Greek cities by the German occupation authorities. Displacement that resulted in the loss of over 85% of the Greek Jewish population.
This year's main event will be held at Pallas Theater, on the pedestrian street of Vukourestiou Street, at 19:00, with the theme "We will defeat racism. Together». Its aim is to signal the need for the awareness of Society and the mobilization of Social and Political forces in the battle against the ideology and phenomena of racism.
The event will honor Concentration Camp Homers, the people who lived through the horrors of the Holocaust and carry the heavy burden of "living proof" for younger generations to learn from and remember.
Central speaker will be Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection Mr. Nikolaos Dendias.
Speakers will also be the co-organizers, the Regional Governor of Attica, Mr. Ioannis Sgouros and the President of the Jewish Community of Athens Mr. Minos Moses.
The famous English actor, Mr. Jeremy Irons will read and perform texts related to the Holocaust and racism and h Mrs. Maria Farandouri will perform songs from the Mauthausen ballad.
An important event at this year's event will be in the presence of high school students who, on the initiative of the Ministry of Education, visited the Auschwitz camp in 2013 and will convey their thoughts and feelings.
The same day at 12.00, there will be a laying of wreaths at the Holocaust Memorial of Athens (pedestrian street of Ermou) by representatives of the State, the Region, the Hellenic Parliament, the Municipality, Political Parties, the Armed Forces, the Jewish Community of Athens, the Central Jewish Council of Greece, the of surviving Hostages, Embassies of Foreign Countries and other Organizations.
History of Memorial Day
The Day of Remembrance of Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust was established in our country in 2004, following a unanimous decision of the Hellenic Parliament. January 27th was designated as a day of remembrance, the day when the largest concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated by Soviet troops, revealing the tragedy and extent of Nazi atrocity in the concentration camps.
The UN General Assembly, on November 1, 2005 with its resolution 60/7, established January 27 as World Holocaust Remembrance Day.