Every year on 27 January, the Jewish Community of Montenegro pays tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to counter antisemitism, racism, and other forms of intolerance that may lead to group-targeted violence.
This year, The Jewish Community of Montenegro launched the exhibition “Holocaust – Destroyed Synagogues“ drew by pupils of two Montengrin schools -Secundary Art School „Petar Lubarda“ in Cetinje and Secondary school of Civil Engineering and Geodesy “Eng. Marko Radević” in Podgorica, at Galery Hotel Cue. Ther collection of 21 paintings show synagogues that were destroyed under Nazi regime during Holocaust.
Speaking at the launch of the exhibition Ms Nina Ofner Bokan, President of the Jewish Community of Montenegro, said, “We must put a greater focus on Holocaust education in our schools. Keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive is the fulfilment a duty to humanity. We owe it to victims of the Holocaust, we owe it to the survivors, we owe it to all the generation to come.”
The exhibition was opened by Minister of Justice Mr. Marko Kovač. On this occasion he stressed, “Commemorating the victims of Holocaust, we warn of the terrible crimes committed against innocent people to whom we express our deepest respect on behalf of the entire Montenegrin society.”
At the same time, the Jewish Community of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Parliament of Montenegro, marked 27 January – International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.
Ms Danijela Đurović, President of the Parliament of Montenegro, recalled that six million of European Jews were killed, of which 1.5 million innocent children, lost their lives in this unprecendented tragedy.
Ms Đurović said that the Holocaust became “a symbol of failure of the entire civilization and a permanent reminder to future generations that they must do their best to ensure that ideas and tragedies such as this one must never be repeated anywhere”.
As part of the programme, the Montenegrin Youth Orchestra performed the three-part composition “Different trains” from 1988, which is based on Steve Reich’s semi-autobiographical story about the Holocaust. The composition was accompanied by a film with the same subject.
Both events were attended by MPs, representatives of the diplomatic corps, members and friends of the Jewish Community of Montenegro as well as representatives of Montenegrin schools.
