World Holocaust Forum
Encyclopedia
The World Holocaust Forum (also World Forum “Let My People Live!”) is a series of high-profile events targeted at preserving memories of Holocaust atrocities and the other tragic events of World War II
. In order to organise and support the World Forum, a special foundation was established in 2005 under the chairmanship of Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
, President of the European Jewish Congress
and Chair of the Forum’s Organising Committee.
Two World Forums have already been held. The First World Forum “Let My People Live!” was held in 2005 in Kraków
(Poland
) to mark 60 years since the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The First Forum was attended by over 20 official delegations led by their heads of state, among them President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin
, President of Israel Moshe Katsav
, President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski
, and Vice President of the United States of America Richard Cheney. The first World Forum received widespread media coverage.
The Second World Forum “Let My People Live!” was held in 2006 in Kiev
under the auspices of President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko
to commemorate 65 years since the Babi Yar tragedy
. The Forum was attended by over 1,000 people from 60 countries, including representatives of international political and public organisations, among them the UN, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the World Jewish Congress
, the European Jewish Congress
, the American Jewish Congress
, the European Jewish Fund
, etc.
The World Holocaust Forum Declaration was adopted at the end of the Second Forum and calls for preserving memories about the tragic events of World War II
and uniting efforts in the fight against xenophobia
, anti-Semitism
and international terrorism.
, Poland
and was dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The third World Holocaust Forum was aimed at preserving memories of the events of World War II
, creating connections between the past and the future and preventing any recurrence of the tragedies of the past. President of the European Jewish Congress
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
was the leader and organiser of the project.
The Forum was the first in a long list of commemorative events planned for 2010 to observe the 65th anniversary of victory in World War II
. The Forum was a starting point of political significance meant to attract the attention of the global community and remind the public of the unparalleled united struggle by members of the Allied coalition against fascism and the decisive role of the Soviet Union
in Europe
’s liberation.
The Forum was attended by a group of 100 European Parliament
deputies headed by Jerzy Buzek
, representatives of other European institutions and official delegations from around the world. Ivan Martynushkin and Yakov Vinnichenko, both World War II
veterans and liberators of Auschwitz-Birkenau, were among the Forum’s honorary guests.
The third “Let My People Live!” World Forum was addressed by the following participants:
• Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
, President of the European Jewish Congress
and the Forum’s leader and organiser
• Jerzy Buzek
, President of the European Parliament
• Aleksander Kwaśniewski
, former president of the Republic of Poland, Chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
• Yisrael Meir Lau
, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv
and Buchenwald survivor
• Avner Shalev
, Chairman of the Directorate of Yad Vashem
• Ronald Lauder
, President of the World Jewish Congress
U.S. President Barack Obama
and President of France
Nicolas Sarkozy
sent their messages to the Forum. Both leaders’ addresses called for the world community to always remember the tragedies of the past and suggested that memory should factor into policy.
The main result of the Forum was an announcement of the initiative to establish a new special educational and research institution, a Pan-European University of Global Security and Tolerance. The key objective of the new organisation will be to assist the international community
in its struggle for global security in the face of challenges posed by extremism. The University will be focused on arranging cross-cultural educational and instructional programmes designed to harmonise the development of international cooperation and education.
• World Holocaust Forum Foundation
• Yad Vashem
– the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority
• President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński
• President of the European Parliament
Jerzy Buzek
• First Permanent President of the European Council
Herman Van Rompuy
• Nazi Camp Survivors Dwindle to a Few, Wall Street Journal, 27.01.2010
• Sarkozy: Auschwitz, symbol of evil, not forgotten, AFP, 27.01.2010
• Iran has same plan as Hitler, says Auschwitz survivor, The Times, 28.01.2010
• Survivors mark liberation of Auschwitz, Sydney Morning Herald, 28.01.2010
• Holocaust survivors focus on future lessons, Euronews, 28.01.2010
• Anti-Semitism in Poland shows need for Holocaust education, Haaretz, 28.01.2010
• EU parliament president commemorates Holocaust, The Parliament.com, 28.01.2010
• The last survivors return to Auschwitz, The Jewish Chronicle, 28.01.2010
in Brussels
on the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day
there took place a commemoration meeting devoted to the memory of the Holocaust. It was timed to the 66th anniversary of the liberation of concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet Army
. Among principal organizers of the event were the European Jewish Congress
, the European Jewish Community Center, the European Coalition for Israel, as well as the European Parliament
and the Information and Diaspora Ministry of Israel
. The President of the European Jewish Congress
Moshe Kantor, the President of the European Parliament
Jerzy Buzek
, the Information and Diaspora Minister of Israel
Yuli Edelstein, the Chief Rabby of Tel Aviv
Yisrael Meir Lau
addressed the audience of those who came to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy became the guest of honour at this event.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In order to organise and support the World Forum, a special foundation was established in 2005 under the chairmanship of Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor is a prominent public figure, businessman and philanthropist who actively participates in the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation in the modern world. He is also engaged in discussing and elaborating ways to stop nuclear proliferation and prevent a nuclear catastrophe...
, President of the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
and Chair of the Forum’s Organising Committee.
Two World Forums have already been held. The First World Forum “Let My People Live!” was held in 2005 in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
(Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) to mark 60 years since the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The First Forum was attended by over 20 official delegations led by their heads of state, among them President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, President of Israel Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav is an Israeli politician. He served as the eighth President of Israel, a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset, and a Cabinet Minister in its government....
, President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
, and Vice President of the United States of America Richard Cheney. The first World Forum received widespread media coverage.
The Second World Forum “Let My People Live!” was held in 2006 in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
under the auspices of President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
to commemorate 65 years since the Babi Yar tragedy
Babi Yar
Babi Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and a site of a series of massacres carried out by the Nazis during their campaign against the Soviet Union. The most notorious and the best documented of these massacres took place on September 29–30, 1941, wherein 33,771 Jews were killed in a...
. The Forum was attended by over 1,000 people from 60 countries, including representatives of international political and public organisations, among them the UN, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
, the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
, the American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
, the European Jewish Fund
European Jewish Fund
The European Jewish Fund is an international non-governmental organisation that coordinates and supports programmes and events aimed at improving interreligious and interethnic relations, reinforcing Jewish national identity, counteracting assimilation, promoting tolerance and reconciliation in...
, etc.
The World Holocaust Forum Declaration was adopted at the end of the Second Forum and calls for preserving memories about the tragic events of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and uniting efforts in the fight against xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and international terrorism.
Third World Forum "Let My People Live!"
The third World Forum “Let My People Live!” took place on January 27, 2010 in KrakowKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and was dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The third World Holocaust Forum was aimed at preserving memories of the events of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, creating connections between the past and the future and preventing any recurrence of the tragedies of the past. President of the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor is a prominent public figure, businessman and philanthropist who actively participates in the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation in the modern world. He is also engaged in discussing and elaborating ways to stop nuclear proliferation and prevent a nuclear catastrophe...
was the leader and organiser of the project.
The Forum was the first in a long list of commemorative events planned for 2010 to observe the 65th anniversary of victory in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Forum was a starting point of political significance meant to attract the attention of the global community and remind the public of the unparalleled united struggle by members of the Allied coalition against fascism and the decisive role of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
’s liberation.
The Forum was attended by a group of 100 European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
deputies headed by Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
, representatives of other European institutions and official delegations from around the world. Ivan Martynushkin and Yakov Vinnichenko, both World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veterans and liberators of Auschwitz-Birkenau, were among the Forum’s honorary guests.
The third “Let My People Live!” World Forum was addressed by the following participants:
• Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor is a prominent public figure, businessman and philanthropist who actively participates in the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation in the modern world. He is also engaged in discussing and elaborating ways to stop nuclear proliferation and prevent a nuclear catastrophe...
, President of the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
and the Forum’s leader and organiser
• Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
, President of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
• Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
, former president of the Republic of Poland, Chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation was established in Paris, France on October 7, 2008 to monitor tolerance in Europe...
• Yisrael Meir Lau
Yisrael Meir Lau
Yisrael Meir Lau is the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and Chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003.-Biography:...
, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and Buchenwald survivor
• Avner Shalev
Avner Shalev
Avner Shalev is the chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate of the The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.-Service in the IDF:...
, Chairman of the Directorate of Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
• Ronald Lauder
Ronald Lauder
Ronald Steven Lauder is a Jewish-American businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and art collector. Forbes lists Lauder among the richest people of the world with an estimated net worth of $3.0 billion in 2007.-Life and career:...
, President of the World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and President of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
sent their messages to the Forum. Both leaders’ addresses called for the world community to always remember the tragedies of the past and suggested that memory should factor into policy.
The main result of the Forum was an announcement of the initiative to establish a new special educational and research institution, a Pan-European University of Global Security and Tolerance. The key objective of the new organisation will be to assist the international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
in its struggle for global security in the face of challenges posed by extremism. The University will be focused on arranging cross-cultural educational and instructional programmes designed to harmonise the development of international cooperation and education.
Organisers
• European Jewish CongressEuropean Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
• World Holocaust Forum Foundation
• Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
– the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority
Patronage
The third “Let My People Live!” Forum was held under the honorary patronage of:• President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
• President of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
• First Permanent President of the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
Forum Media Coverage
• Moshe Kantor. Learning for the future, Jerusalem Post, 26.01.2010• Nazi Camp Survivors Dwindle to a Few, Wall Street Journal, 27.01.2010
• Sarkozy: Auschwitz, symbol of evil, not forgotten, AFP, 27.01.2010
• Iran has same plan as Hitler, says Auschwitz survivor, The Times, 28.01.2010
• Survivors mark liberation of Auschwitz, Sydney Morning Herald, 28.01.2010
• Holocaust survivors focus on future lessons, Euronews, 28.01.2010
• Anti-Semitism in Poland shows need for Holocaust education, Haaretz, 28.01.2010
• EU parliament president commemorates Holocaust, The Parliament.com, 28.01.2010
• The last survivors return to Auschwitz, The Jewish Chronicle, 28.01.2010
Holocaust Remembrance Day in Brussels
On January 25, 2011 at the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, is an international memorial day for the victims of the Holocaust, the genocide that resulted in the annihilation of 6 million European Jews and millions of others by the Nazi regime.. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly...
there took place a commemoration meeting devoted to the memory of the Holocaust. It was timed to the 66th anniversary of the liberation of concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
. Among principal organizers of the event were the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
, the European Jewish Community Center, the European Coalition for Israel, as well as the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and the Information and Diaspora Ministry of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The President of the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
Moshe Kantor, the President of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
, the Information and Diaspora Minister of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Yuli Edelstein, the Chief Rabby of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
Yisrael Meir Lau
Yisrael Meir Lau
Yisrael Meir Lau is the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and Chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003.-Biography:...
addressed the audience of those who came to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy became the guest of honour at this event.