It symbolically marked the beginning of the Remembrance March, organized by the relatives of those murdered in Molėtai and the Lithuanian Jewish Community, prominent public and culture figures.
Some 2000 Jews were killed on 29 August 1941 in Molėtai during the Nazi occupation. At the time, it was almost one third of the town’s population.
The President emphasized that the Holocaust, when hundreds of thousands of Lithuanian Jewish citizens were brutally murdered, was the tragedy of the whole of Lithuania. Their memory is an uncompromising obligation for all Lithuanian people to fight against hatred, violence, discrimination, and indifference, and to respect and protect those who are around us.
The President said it was very significant that the idea of the Remembrance March was hugely supported by all, and young people in particular. This demonstrates, the President said, that Lithuanians are changing, casting away primitive stereotypes, becoming open and tolerant as they uphold and defend human values.
A monument and memorial by the Lithuanian and Israeli sculptor, Davidas Zundelovičius, have been erected at the mass gravesite.
This week, Remembrance Marches are organized in other Lithuanian cities and towns that saw the brutal massacre of Jews 75 years ago.
