Thematic commemoration ceremony by the Embassy of Greece in Bern

Thematic commemoration ceremony by the Embassy of Greece in Switzerland

On the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2022, a ceremony took place in Bern. This year’s theme was “Teaching and learning about the Holocaust: The example of Thessaloniki. A Jewish Metropolis. Its glory and its destruction”. The ceremony was organized by the Embassy of Greece in Switzerland, within the framework of the Greek Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, in co-operation with the Embassy of Israel and the patronage of the Embassies of IHRA member states. Among the speakers were the President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation, Ms Irène Kälin, the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr Ignazio Cassis, the Ambassadors of Israel and Germany, and the Chargé d’affaires of the United States of America. The Ambassador of Greece, Ms Ekaterini Xagorari, presented the work of the Greek IHRA Presidency. The video testimony of Ms Jeannette Hadjis, a Greek-Swiss Holocaust survivor was screened and Dr Leon Saltiel, Representative at UN Geneva and UNESCO and Co-ordinator on Countering Antisemitism for the World Jewish Congress and a member of the Greek delegation to the IHRA, gave this year’s keynote speech. The event took place at the premises of the Universal Postal Union, where a photo exhibition by Yad Vashem on Jewish life in Thessaloniki was also presented. – A video of the ceremony can be accessed on the YouTube channel of the Embassy of Greece in Switzerland in three languages (English, German, French).