About 7,000 Holocaust survivors met last night at the Yad Vashem Memorial Center to commemorate the millions who did not survive.
Many of the participants arrived at the site before the official ceremony. They covered the black stone floor of the “Ohel Yizkor”, which bears the names of the concentration camps, with flowers. At various corners of the place, groups gathered for the prayer of Arvit and chanted Kaddish in the memory of relatives. The ceremony began with the arrival of President Yitzhak Navon, and the singing of the national anthem. Many of the 4,000 guests from abroad burst into tears.
“Different peoples have developed different characteristics” said Navon. “The Jewish people developed the trait of memory.” Just as the Jewish people remember events such as those which deal with Abraham and Moses, they should remember the Holocaust and ascertain that it will be remembered for generations to come, “so that the crimes will not be forgotten,” the President declared.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
