This year marks 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a moment that exposed humanity’s darkest depths and became a call to remember, reflect, and act to prevent such horrors from ever happening again.
“For me, the Holocaust is more than history; it is personal. It is the story of my family,” says Israel’s Ambassador to Lithuania, Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein. “My grandmother Miriam was sent to Auschwitz, where she lost her parents, brother, and husband. My grandfather Jeremiah also lost his wife and two children there. After the war, they returned to Poland, alone and broken, but built a new life and gave birth to my father—a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.”
In Lithuania, the Holocaust remains a painful chapter. Over 200,000 Lithuanian Jews were murdered, the highest percentage of any country in Europe. This tragedy stemmed not only from Nazi crimes but also from complacency and collaboration. As we mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we must preserve historical truth and reject any attempts to distort or downplay this history. We must also confront the troubling presence of monuments and plaques that honor individuals complicit in these atrocities.
Antisemitism remains a real and growing threat, endangering both Jewish communities and the foundations of democracy. The October 7 terror attack on Israel—a reminder of how fragile the promise of “Never Again” can be—has fueled a global rise in antisemitic incidents, including in Lithuania. Jewish sites have been desecrated, and hateful propaganda continues to spread.
Lithuania is also a place of remembrance and education. To honor Holocaust victims, the Embassies of Israel, the United States, and Germany, along with the Jewish Community, will host a performance of “The Witness” at Vilniaus Lėlės, the former Vilnius Ghetto theater. Directed by Hadas Kalderon, granddaughter of renowned Yiddish poet and Holocaust survivor Avraham Sutzkever, the play honors his legacy of bearing witness to the atrocities he survived during the Holocaust, including in the Vilnius Ghetto.
As we commemorate this solemn day, we must uphold the truth, educate future generations, and foster a world where hatred and intolerance have no place.