International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust 2021; January 27

United Nations News · In Their Words: Surviving the Holocaust. Finding Hope

Honoring on January 27th the courage and dedication shown by the soldiers who liberated the concentration camps, Reaffirming that the Jewish Holaucaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism.

FORUM: International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust 2021; 27 January  “Facing the Aftermath: Recovery and Reconstitution after the Holocaust”

AUDIO PODCAST: In Their Words: Surviving the Holocaust. Finding Hope.

The United Nations in Geneva will mark the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust with a programme of activities built around the theme of this year's commemoration, Facing the Aftermath: Recovery and Reconstitution after the Holocaust. 

From 25-31 January 2021
Online and at Beth Yaacov Great Synagogue, Place de la Synagogue 11, Geneva

"Keeping the Memory Alive - Dimensions in Testimony" - This innovative video project keeps the memory of Holocaust survivors alive by featuring their interactive biographies on the exterior walls of the Beth Yaacov Great Synagogue of Geneva. Online users can interact live with Holocaust survivors, both in English and German, asking them personal questions and get real-time responses from pre-recorded video interviews, using the USC Shoah Foundation’s ‘Dimensions in Testimony’ technology; Organized jointly by the European Union Delegation and the Permanent Mission of Israel in Geneva, together with the United Nations in Geneva, the Communauté Israélite de Genève, and the World Jewish Congress, in cooperation with the USC Shoah Foundation. View the interactive biographies daily from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. or engage online until 8 February.

Tuesday, 26 January 2021, at 1 p.m. - Online event

Ciné-ONU virtual screening of The Albanian Code, a documentary feature with unique archival footage, unveiling the unknown story of the rescue of thousands of Jews in the Second World War, followed by a panel discussion …. Organized jointly by the United Nations Information Service Geneva, the United Nations Information Service Vienna, and the United Nations Regional Information Center Brussels. Registration:

Wednesday, 27 January 2021, at 12 noon
Room XX at the Palais des Nations, Geneva
Streamed live at http://webtv.un.org/ 

The official ceremony of the United Nations in Geneva will pay tribute to those who perished in Nazi death camps. Holocaust survivor Fanny Ben-Amy will tell of her family experience of loss and survival. The ceremony will feature remarks by Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, UN Geneva Director-General, Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar, Permanent Representative of Israel, and Ambassador Michael Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, Permanent Representative of Germany. It will also include several musical interludes by the renowned Israeli pianist Amit Weiner. English and French interpretation will be provided.

*No registration needed. Because of health measures related to the current pandemic, we invite you to follow the ceremony online.

For more information visit the on the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme;

MESSAGES ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF COMMEMORATION IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST

 

Dr Efstathios C. Lianos Liantis, Chairman of the Greek Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) & Special Envoy on Combating Antisemitism and Preserving Holocaust Remembrance / Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece

H.E. Mr. Pierre-Louis Lorenz, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the United Nations in Geneva

H.E. Tine Mørch Smith, Mission of Norway, Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representation of Norway to the United Nations in Geneva

H.E. Mr. Bogdan Aurescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania

H.E. Mrs. Aurora Diaz-Rato Revuelta, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations in Geneva

H. E. Mr. Walter Stevens, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in Geneva

 

VIRTUA CREATIVE PRESENTS
 

UN CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY
VIRTUAL CONCERT ON OCCASION OF THE
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF COMMEMORATION
IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST

 

VIRTUAL GLOBAL LAUNCH:
Wednesday, 27 January 2021
7:00 PM EST (New York time)

WATCH THE CONCERT ON: UNITED NATIONS

 

On 27 January 2021, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, the UN Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council (UNCMS), will perform a virtual concert in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.  The Holocaust was a turning point in history, which prompted the world to say "never again". The classical music programme will feature Jewish composers, to instill the memory of the tragedy in future generations to prevent genocide from occurring again.

Founded in 2016, the UN Chamber Music Society carries out the United Nations’ mission of peace, understanding and cooperation, through the universal language of music.  All musicians will perform chamber ensemble music from the safety of their homes, to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.
 

 

PROGRAMME

Message

H.E. Mr. António Guterres
UN Secretary-General

Remarks

Melissa Fleming
UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications

Professor Roger Berkowitz,
Director of the Hannah Arendt Center

 

 

UN Chamber Music Society
of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council
Brenda Vongova, Artistic Director

Music Programme

Kol Nidrei (An ancient Jewish prayer, that all of the Jewish victims knew by heart.)
Ori Wissner Levy (Violin)
Performed in the Treblinka Death Camp, in a forest north-east of Warsaw, Poland.


ERNEST BLOCH (1880 - 1959)  Baal Shem: II. Nigun

David Strongin (Violin), Brenda Vongova (Piano)

MICHELLE DIBUCCI (1961 - ) "Wenn Ich Dich Sehe" aria from the ballet-opera Charlotte Saloman: Der Tod und die Malerin

Clare McNamara (Mezzo-Soprano), Krystof Witek (Violin Solo), Ted Mook (Cello), 
Kohei Yamaguchi (Bass), Tanya Witek (Flute/Piccolo), Lisa Kozenko (Oboe), 
Saerom Kim (Clarinet), John Falcone (Bassoon/Alto Saxophone), Ehren L. Valmé (Trombone), 
Anran Qian (Piano), Tom Betsalel (Vibraphone)

 

YAMEN SAADI (1997 - ) Introduction and Longa, Op.1
Yamen Saadi (Violin)

 

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 - 1750) Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, Sarabande
Alexander Warenberg, Cello

 

GUSTAV MAHLER (1860 - 1911) Kindertotenlieder (Songs of the Deaths of Children):
IV. "Oft denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen"

Clare McNamara (Mezzo-Soprano), Marie Gitman (Oboe), Ben Goldscheider (Horn), Anran Qian (Piano)


MAX REGER (1873 - 1916) Three Suites for Solo Viola, Op. 131d: Suite No. 1 in G Minor: I. Molto sostenuto
Sindy Mohamed, Viola

JULIUS KLENGEL (1859 - 1933) Hymnus for 12 Celli

Derek Louie (Cello)
 

MICHAEL COHEN (1938 - ) "I Remember" from the musical Yours, Anne  (Lyrics by Enid Futterman)
Britt Hewitt (Soprano), Jaye Simmons (Mezzo-Soprano), Brenda Vongova (Piano), Nathan Melzer (Violin), Derek Louie (Cello), Saerom Kim (Clarinet), Jordan James (French Horn)


Shalom Aleichem (Traditional Jewish prayer)
David Strongin (Violin)
Performed in the Buchenwald concentration camp.
 

 

 

SPECIAL THANKS

 

UN Department of Global Communications

The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme

 

Recording of Bloch’s Nigun:
High Line Nine

Christina Maxwell, Manager

Artist Kyle Meyer, represented by Yossi Milo Gallery

 

Collection Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam

© Charlotte Salomon Foundation

Charlotte Salomon®

 

Artwork of Poster: The Pattern of My Surrender (two)
Courtesy of Artist Naomi Safran-Hon and Slag Gallery

In the piece The Pattern of My Surrender (two) the barbwire is woven into the grid pattern before embedding it into lace and cement, the cement is holding both the lace and the barbwire together.

(28x40 inches, Acrylic, cement, barbed wire and lace, 2019)

 

 

 

 

VERY SPECIAL THANKS

Video Editing

Daniel Drake, Video Editor

 

 

Audio Production

VIRTUA CREATIVE
Edward Bilous, Artistic Director and Producer
Keren Minto, Production Coordinator 

Greg Kalember, Mix Engineer

 

 

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For complete list of the 2021 Holocaust Remembrance Calendar of Events: 

International Day of Education 2021; January 24

Statement from the United Nations Secretary-General's on International Day of Education 2021, January 24.

When education is interrupted, it affects everyone – especially students, teachers and families.

Today, on the third International Day of Education, I pay tribute to their resilience in the face of a pandemic that, at its peak, forced almost every school, institute and university to close its doors.

Although this disruption has led to learning innovations, it has also dashed hopes of a brighter future among vulnerable populations. 

All of us pay the price. 

After all, education is the foundation for expanding opportunities, transforming economies, fighting intolerance, protecting our planet and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

As the world continues to battle the pandemic, education – as a fundamental right and a global public good – must be protected to avert a generational catastrophe.

Even before the pandemic, some 258 million children and adolescents were out of school, the majority of them girls. 

More than half of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries were not learning to read a simple text.

In 2021, we must seize all opportunities to turn this situation around.

We must ensure the full replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education fund, and strengthen global education cooperation.

We must also step up our efforts to reimagine education – training teachers, bridging the digital divide and rethinking curricula to equip learners with the skills and knowledge to flourish in our rapidly changing world.

Let us commit to promote education for all — today and every day.

António Guterres

EVENTS: International Day of Education 2021 celebration by UNESCO Headquarters

FORUM:  ''Transtorming Education'' International Day of Education 2021, January 24.

World Braille Day 2021, 4 January

 Using the Braille Science Code - Supporting Blind and partially sighted people.

The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics is a Braille code for encoding mathematical and scientific notation linearly using standard six-dot Braille cells for tactile reading by the visually impaired. The code was developed by Abraham Nemeth. The Nemeth Code was first written up in 1952.