The European Jewish Congress (EJC) partnered with the European Commission, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the Swedish Presidency of IHRA in the organisation of the Holocaust Remembrance Conference “Remembering the past, Shaping the Future” that took place in Brussels on the 23 of January 2023 on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The conference was organised in partnership with Jewish orgasations such as the AJC Transatlantic Institute, B’nai B’rith Europe, B’nai B’rith International, European Jewish Community Center, European Union of Jewish Students, and World Jewish Congress.
Among the speakers were Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life Katherina von Schnurbein, Swedish Minister for Gender Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment Paulina Brandberg, Chair of the Swedish Presidency of IHRA Ambassador Ann Bernes and IHRA Honorary Chair Professor Yehuda Bauer.
Participants had the opportunity to hear a testimony from Holocaust Survivor Henriette Kretz followed by the reading of a letter from the Warsaw Ghetto and a musical interlude by Musica Mundi Children.
During the commemoration ceremony, EJC President Dr. Ariel Muzicant lit the first candle honoring the memory of the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were murdered in the Holocaust.
The conference concluded with a panel discussion featuring Director of Zachor Foundation Hungary and Acting Deputy Director of Programs at USC Shoah Foundation Andrea Szőnyi, Associate Professor in Archaeology at Cambridge University and IHRA Delegate and Chair of “Safeguarding” Sites” Project Dr.Gilly Carr and Founder and Managing Director of the Agency “what matters” Dr. Andreas Kahrs on “Where the Holocaust Happened”.
You can watch the ceremony again in this link: https://fb.watch/ifnMIkj391/
