International Day of Commemoration
in memory of the victims of the Holocaust
Memorial Ceremony and Concert
General Assembly Hall
27 January 2010
With the theme “Holocaust remembrance: the Legacy of Survival”, the solemn ceremony and concert marked the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the former death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and underscored the universal lessons that survivors will pass on to future generations.
The event, sponsored by the Government of Germany, was opened by United Nations Under-Secretary-General Kiyo Akasaka, included a message from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (the video of the Secretary-General message is also available on Youtube) and a message from the President of the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, delivered by H.E. Byrganym Aitimova, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan, Acting President of the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly.
The event also included remarks by H.E. Peter Wittig, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations and H.E. Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Minister of Information and Diaspora, Israel. Keynote remarks were made by Nechama Tec, Holocaust survivor, who was joined by her son, Mr. Roland Tec, co-producer of the film “Defiance”.
Mr. Andrzej Mirga, Senior Adviser on Roma Sinti Issues, ODIHR/OSCE, also made a statement on the persecution and murder of the Roma and Sinti under the Nazi regime.
The music was performed by the Nürnberg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Oratorio Chamber Choir and the Bayreuth Zamir Chorale, conducted by Maestro Issak Tavior. Mr. Zev Salomon Muller, Chief Cantor of the West Side Institutional Synagogue, recited the memorial prayers.