On the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Italian institutions in Paris also commemorated the victims of the Shoah.
On today's morning, the Italian Ambassador to France, Emanuela D'Alessandro, took part in the ceremony held at the Holocaust Memorial, in the presence of numerous French authorities and a number of Holocaust survivors, where the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron also went to pay homage to the victims.
Afterwards, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture, in the presence of Institute Director Antonio Calbi, director Giorgio Treves and Principal Arnod, students from the middle school and high school of the Leonardo Da Vinci Italian Comprehensive Institute attended the screening of the film '1938 - Diversi', an engaging documentary on the impact of the racial laws in Italy, presented Out of Competition in the Official Selection of the 75th Venice Film Festival and winner of the 2019 Silver Ribbon Award for Best Documentary.
This year, the Da Vinci Institute, as well as the Italian Embassy and the consular network in France, also disseminated and enhanced for the occasion through the school's website and through its social channels the video message of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, who stated that "the fight against anti-Semitism is an absolute priority for me personally, for the government, and for the entire country, which has always been committed to promoting a culture of respect and peaceful coexistence through education, remembrance, and the firm defence of human rights". "We must start in primary schools to teach every child that there is no such thing as hating another person because of their religious beliefs. Remembering is a duty, acting is a responsibility," Tajani continued. In preparation for the day, and as in previous years, the students visited the Shoah Memorial.
Lastly, the Italian Institute of Culture in Paris will commemorate the victims of the Holocaust this evening at the opening of the event "Le Divine: Eleonora Duse and Sarah Bernhardt", which will also feature a video message from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Tajani. On 29 January, the Institute will also host the show 'In quelle tenezze. The truth is an interweaving of voices" by Gitta Sereny, focusing on the figure of Franz Stangl, commander of the extermination camps of Sobibór and Treblinka, in Poland, in 1942-1943, the only extermination camp commander brought before a court of law.
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