In the XXI century when the world faces different calamities, ethnic conflicts, religious intolerance we must talk about Holocaust, this dreadful evidence of anti-humanness which took lives of six million Jews.

Those who personally lived through the horrors of occupation and those who know about from stories of their grandfathers and grandmothers, books and films came to commemorate Holocaust victims.

We remember Grigoriy Moiseyevich Zaidenvarge. Till the end of his life he could not forget how he had been on the verge of death every day during the war because he was a Jew. He worked in a mine, had a very poor nutrition but did not lose weight. SS personnel was surprised, they were waiting to burn him in a furnace.

We remember Zinoviy Savelyevich Sheinin who spent three terrible years in Buchenwald. He was saved by a German doctor. For three year he would see how people with a yellow star on their chests disappeared.

Valentina Borisovna Saharova lit a commemoration candle. She was in Minsk ghetto, her family was not able to evacuate. She is the only one who survived out of all her family.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Milvanov remembers how he, a 12-year boy, was bombed during the evacuation of his children’s house. He lost his friends. He was looking for some shelter. Aunt Vera let him live with her in Ladyzhkino Village. After the Ukraine was liberated he went to his home village Smotrich where 400 Jewish families had lived and learned that all of them were moved to the steppe and killed there. Fascists told these people that they were being sent to Palestine.

Fima Rahmilovich Gontmaher is still grateful to a village woman Anna and her daughter Nina, who were hiding him and his mother in their house. No neighbors found out that Jews were living in the cellar of this house for four years. Very rarely, little Fima was taken outside to have some fresh air late at night.

Our Hesed has published a book in memory of evacuation. Children of war Vladimir Mikhailovich Shneerov, Lev Borisovich Tolchinskiy, Marta Vladimirovna Sidorskaya, Eleonora Borisovna Neiman, Maya Davydovna Shargorodskaya, Lev Alexandrovich Belan, Yakov Aronovich Ber recollect in the book what a horrible time it was, hunger and bombings.

Faina Pavlovna Svechnskaya, Chairwoman of the Ethno-cultural Center Merkaz said in her speech, "Let our children, grand children, and great grand children never know what war is. It is good that people of all generations came here today, thus our memory will not disappear."

Hana Meerovna Lobchenko, Historian , who compiled the Hesed book of memory said that she was three years old at the time of evacuation, but being a little child she remembered forever the famine and fear of bombs.

Alexander Tselovalnikov spoke on behalf of young people, "We do not know what war and hunger is, only from stories of our grandmothers and grandfathers. With a great pleasure I participate in the Project "Tell you grandchildren…" because your recollections are the lessons we should learn and remember."

Girls recited poems about Holocaust: Kseniya Petrova - "Babiy Yar", Polina Engel - "Warsaw Ghetto", Dasha Himan "Shot Stars". We should not forget Holocaust because meanness and evil do not know remorse.

Irina Tveritneva