Photography @ Arnaud Roelofsz
Read here the booklet of International Holocaust Remembrance Day The Hague 2020: Booklet IHRD-TH 2020
Look back at the kenote lecture by Professor Phillipe Sands:
Look back at te speech by H E Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President of the International Court of Justice:
Look back at the Testimony of a 2nd generation Holocaust survivor, by Mr. Arie Sznaj:
Look back at te speech by Naor Gilon, Ambassador of Israel and the candle lightning in commemoration Holocaust victims:
Look back at the welcome at IHRD-TH 2020 by Mr. Johan Remkes, acting Mayor of The Municipality of The Hague:
International Holocaust Remembrance Day The Hague 2020
Together with the Municipality of The Hague and the Embassy of Israel in the Netherlands, the Jewish cultural organisation CHAJ has initiated an International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration event, a Lecture, which took place for the second time on Monday the 27th of January 2020 at the Peace Palace’s Academy Building. Philippe Sands delivered a lecture entitled ‘Beyond East West Street,’ reflecting the title of his best-selling book, East West Street.
H.E. Mayor of The Hague, Johan Remkes welcomed the public consisting of, ambassadors, judges, diplomats, professionals from international law, World Class students, representatives of various Jewish organizations and other interested parties. He emphasized that we should never let those who initiate or participate in atrocities escape judgment and that education is the key to democracy.
HE Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President of the International Court of Justice, kindly agreed to open the event. He held an impressive speech where he pointed at the danger of dividing humanity into “us” and “the Other”. During the Holocaust, the “Other” were the Jews, the Sinti and Roma, Gays, and the mentally infirm. It is almost impossible now to imagine a group of men sitting quietly planning the murder on an industrial scale of millions, only because they were the “Other”. The many genocidal atrocities against other groups since 1945 shows that we haven’t learned much.
2nd generation Holocaust survivor, Mr. Arie Sznaj gave a moving account of how his grandfather as the only one of his large family escaped the razzias and murders in Lviv (then called Lemberg). In 1939 over one-third of Lembergs 350,000 inhabitants were Jews and almost all perished.
To represent the many Dutch jurists that were killed during the Holocaust, six children lighted candles to six jurists, while their names and a brief c.v. were read. The Ambassador of Israel, H.E. Mr. Naor Gilon guided the children during this impressive commemorative moment
Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, President of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor’s Office introduced keynote speaker Professor Sands. She told how she became a jurist because she dreamt of a society where the rule of law prevails. And to protect this rule of law citizens sometimes have to take a stand against their government for what is right. Sometimes that requires lying down on the train tracks, as the Bulgarians did when the government wanted to deport Bulgarians Jews by train.
Philippe Sands, an internationally renowned lawyer, educator, writer, actor, and descendant of Holocaust survivors spoke partly about the history of the concepts Genocide and Crimes against Humanity, partly about his family history and partly about the tension between the two concepts.
Read more in Diplomatic Magazine: http://www.diplomatmagazine.eu/2020/01/29/international-holocaust-remembrance-day-the-hague/