Note to Correspondents

EXHIBIT MARKING ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DAY OF COMMEMORATION IN MEMORY OF HOLOCAUST

VICTIMS OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS ON SATURDAY; DOCUMENTS PLIGHT OF ROMA, SINTI

In observance of the Holocaust remembrance, an exhibition will be on display in the General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby beginning Saturday, 27 January and will remain on view through 22 February.

The exhibit is comprised of two parts.  The first is entitled “The Holocaust Against the Roma and Sinti and present day racism in Europe” –- an exhibit documenting the plight of the Roma and Sinti minorities in Central and Eastern Europe.  Personal testimonies and family photographs take centre stage in this exhibit, which shows the unique story of each individual.  The exhibit is presented by the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma, with the support of the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations.

The second, “Art of the Survivors”, is an art exhibition featuring paintings and sculptures by four Holocaust survivors –- Joseph Bau (deceased), Henny Trompetter Zwecher de Brito, David Friedman (deceased) and Hanka Kornfeld-Marder.  As survivors, these artists were compelled to tell their stories, sending a message of hope to the entire world through their art.  This exhibit is organized and sponsored by the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI).

A formal exhibit opening ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 30 January at 6 p.m. in the Main Gallery of the Visitors’ Lobby, followed by a private reception.  Statements will be made by Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Romani Rose, Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Thomas Matussek, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations, Rabbi Israel Singer, Chairman of the World Jewish Congress, Johan Weisz, Holocaust survivor (Netherlands) and Clila Bau, daughter of Holocaust survivor, Joseph Bau.

The opening will also feature “In Memory of My People”, a concerto for guitar and orchestra, with Ferenc Snétberger on acoustic guitar and the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra of Budapest.

These exhibits are presented as part of a week-long series of activities on the theme “Remembrance and Beyond”.  In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

For more information on United Nations Exhibitions, call Jan Arnesen at tel.: (212) 963-8531 or Liza Wichmann at tel.: (212) 963-0089.

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