The 16th International Remembrance Day Commemorating the Victims of the Holocaust ONLINE

This year, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Poland will be celebrated on January 27 and all official ceremonies will be held and broadcasted online. The event will start at 1.00 p.m. with the broadcast of the El Male Rachamim prayer by the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw. Later, the Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, will take the floor, followed by Gołda Tencer, the Director of the Jewish Theater and the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich. We will also recall the speech delivered by Marian Turski, a former prisoner of Auschwitz, Vice-President of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute, on January 27, 2020, during the ceremony of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

At 4.00 p.m., Jan Ordyński will meet online with Alicja Schnepf and Irena Senderska, the representatives of the Polish Association of the Righteous Among the Nations. Just as every year, we will light candles in our windows, a symbolic, empty historic tram featuring the Star of David will ride through the streets of Warsaw, and Ester Rachel and Ida Kamińska Jewish Theater will hold the stage performance. The celebrations will be held under the Honorary Patronage of the Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski.

All events will be broadcasted on social media, i.e. the SHALOM Foundation’s and the Jewish Theater’s Facebook page as well as the Theater’s YT channel.

Events of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day
As part of the commemorating celebrations, on January 27 at 7.30 p.m., the Jewish Theater in Warsaw will welcome everyone to watch “The Song About the Murdered Jewish People” written by Icchak Kacenelson and translated by Jerzy Ficowski, directed by Gołda Tencer and Szymon Szurmiej, with stage design by Jerzy Kalina. The performance premiered on the stage of the Jewish Theater in 2003 with guest appearances by Krystyna Janda, Andrzej Blumenfeld, Krzysztof Gosztyła, Krzysztof Kolberger, Władysław Kowalski, Jacek Lenartowicz, Olgierd Łukaszewicz, and Jerzy Trela as well as the actors from the Jewish Theater in Warsaw and the Moscow Choir of Cantors.

“The Song About the Murdered Jewish People” is a magnificent literary testimony of the Holocaust and a work of literature, a shocking poem that combines elements of an autobiographical story, mourning trend, and historical report; it is one of the most unique and moving testimonies of the Holocaust, says Gołda Tencer, the director of the Jewish Theater and co-creator of the show.

During the whole day, the Jewish Theater will also broadcast on social media (Facebook page and YT channel) the songs written and composed in the ghettos during World War 2 by, among others, Ani maamin, Ejli, Ejli, Mojde ani.

The Light of Remembrance
The Light of Remembrance brings life back, today, it is up to us to keep this light burning, says Gołda Tencer.
Once again, the Shalom Foundation is asking you to light a candle, so that on January 27 at 6.00 p.m., the lit candles are in every window. The symbol of the burning candle shows our solidarity with the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust and our hope that human life will always be respected. The “Light of Remembrance” can also be symbolically lit online, on the Shalom Foundation’s Facebook page.

Tram, the symbol
Just as every year, on January 27, 2021, 12.00-6.00 p.m., a historic tram with the Star of David will ride through the streets of Warsaw. This empty vehicle symbolizes the tram that ran in the Warsaw Ghetto. The intention behind this concept is to remind the residents of Warsaw about their Jewish neighbors who were murdered in extermination camps and ghettos during World War 2. The tram will run the following route: Narutowicza Square – Marszałkowska Street – Stawki Street – Popiełuszki Street – Metro Marymont – Okopowa Stree – Zawiszy Square – Narutowicza Square

In tribute to those who have passed away
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day was announced by the United Nations General Assembly on November 1, 2005. The date of the official celebration was set for January 27, which is the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in 1945. Remembrance Day was intended not only to commemorate those who were murdered by the Nazis during World War 2 but also to firmly oppose the non-recognition of the Holocaust as a historical event. In its resolution, the UN General Assembly also called for measures to mobilize the nations to keep the memory and educate about the Holocaust so that it is a warning to all people and prevents hatred, racism, and prejudice.

The Shalom Foundation welcomes everyone to follow the ceremony online

The event has been co-organized by Stołeczna Estrada, Tramwaje Warszawskie Sp. z o.o. and Estera Rachel and Ida Kamińska Jewish Theater – Yiddish Cultural Center

Media coverage will be ensured by Telewizja Polska S.A.