On 27 January, it has been exactly 70 years since the liberation of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp that finally unveiled the horrible fate of Jews and many members of various ethnic, religious and political groups, as well as homosexuals and physically and mentally challenged people who were unacceptable for the Nazi regime during the World War II.
If the world-wide public had been able to turn a blind eye to this before the unveiling, this was not be possible any more since the Auschwitz and other concentration camps had been liberated: six million Jews killed as well as millions of other victims is a fact that cannot be denied. Holocaust is one of the worst crimes against humanity which our country could not avoid either – because of it the pre-war Jewish community in Slovenia almost completely disappeared and it has not yet recovered.
On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, various events are organised across Slovenia to honour the memory of all holocaust victims, including those who lost their lives, as well as those, who survived, with this being a part of the Shoah – Let Us Remember project. “Only know that hope lives when people remember“, Simon Wiesenthal wrote many years ago (summed up from: The Holocaust 1933−1945 (The Courage to Remember), an exhibition at the Maribor Synagogue, 2004−2005), and to remember means to also encourage the present and the future generations to understand and prevent the circumstances which had led to the Holocaust, as well as to also make them aware of the importance of tolerance and respect for human rights.
Honorary patron of the Shoah – Let Us Remember 2015 project is Dr. Miro Cerar, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia.
Organisers: Center judovske kulturne dediščine Sinagoga Maribor, Univerzitetna knjižnica Maribor, Mariborska knjižnica, Salon uporabnih umetnosti, OŠ Draga Kobala Maribor, Prva gimnazija Maribor, Zavod za kulturo in promocijo Lendava, Sinagoga Lendava – Slovenski muzej holokavsta, Zveza kulturnih društev Lendava, Knjižnica Lendava, Dvojezična srednja šola Lendava, Dvojezična osnovna šola I Lendava, Mladinsko kulturni inkubator Mansarda – Zavod aktivne mladine Lendava, Kulturno društvo Lendava, Društvo za ustvarjalnost in izobraževanje Art vizija Črenšovci, Društvo zbirateljev Pomurja Lindva, Dejan Süč, OŠ Sveta Ana, Pomurski muzej Murska Sobota, Mestna občina Murska Sobota, OŠ Pesnica, OŠ Starše, ZZB za vrednote NOB Slovenije – Koordinacijski odbor žrtev vojnega nasilja, Muzej novejše zgodovine Slovenije, Mini teater, Judovski kulturni center Ljubljana, Znanstvenoraziskovalni center Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti, Gimnazija Nova Gorica, Goriška knjižnica Franceta Bevka Nova Gorica, Pavlova hiša – Potrna, Mladinski center Hiša mladih Ajdovščina
Project Coordinator: Center judovske kulturne dediščine Sinagoga Maribor
The Shoah – Let Us Remember project was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Municipality of Maribor, and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance – IHRA. Certain events were also supported by the Hungarian and Israeli Embassies.
