23 September 2011
Kin of the Holocaust victims,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We gather on this day every year. The painful historic past brings us together on this day, the past that had a tragic impact on our state, the Jewish people, and the destinies of those who lived and continue to live with them.
Time might seem to heal the wounds of the mid-20th century or at least soothe the pain. The Holocaust, however, was too striking an experience not only for the Jewish nation but for the whole humanity too. We still have survivors who eye witnessed the tragedy of the Jewish people, who saw the atrocious and meaningless massacre. We also have those who, at the risk to their and their children’s lives, resisted the wild outrageous behaviour.
The latter acted not only to save the Jews under threat but to save humanity and justice in the world too. They also acted to save Lithuania, its honour and good reputation. Anyone who despised and killed somebody of another nation despised his/her own nation, its spirit, and future.
That is why the true face of Lithuania, during the occupation, was the 819 people who are the citizens of Lithuania and the Righteous of the World. That is why there are monuments all over the world for the saviours of Jews as well as for the saviours of humanity and the right to be the man. Those monuments are the reminders that the genuine creators of history were Schindler and Sugihara, the farmers and the intelligentsia who saved Jews but definitely not butcher helpers.
Let the souls of the tortured, killed and pained, all those to who the mid-20th century tragedy was a horrific reality rest in peace. My sincere condolences to their children and grandchildren, their kin and friends, to all of you here, to all who see the 23rd of September as the day marked by pain and sadness.
