Holocaust Memorial Day in Lithuania

Lithuania has designated 23 September as National Memorial Day for the Genocide of the Lithuanian Jews.

The Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament) declared 2011 as the Year of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania. In honor of this Year of Remembrance, the Lithuanian government adopted a comprehensive program of commemorative events and projects dedicated to remembrance and education.

Speaker of the Seimas Irena Degutien delivered the keynote address, in which she stated, "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 eyewitnessed 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 behavior...That is why the true face of Lithuania during the occupation was the 819 people who are citizens of Lithuania and the Righteous of the World."