REMEMBRANCE DAY OF THE GREEK JEWISH MARTYRS & HOLOCAUST HEROES

On 27 January 1945, the Auschwitz extermination camp was liberated by the troops of the former USSR. In 2004, the Hellenic Parliament unanimously established 27 January as the “Remembrance Day of the Greek Jewish Martyrs & Holocaust Heroes”, who, along with millions of their fellow Jews, fell victim to Nazi racial persecution during the Second World War. In 2005, the United Nations designated 27 January as the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and urged its member states to develop educational programmes that would pass on the memory of this tragedy to future generations.
As part of the events marking the National Remembrance Day of the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Holocaust Heroes, the Thessaloniki Concert Hall will host an event featuring a keynote address by former President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopios Pavlopoulos. This will be followed by soprano Mariangela Chatzistamatiou —a dedicated scholar and performer of the Jewish musical tradition in Greece—who will chant in Judeo-Spanish the prayer “Eli, Eli”, written after the Holocaust and performed annually during the memorial ceremony at the Monastiriotes Synagogue. The prayer starts with the verse from Psalm 22, “Eli, Eli, lama azavtani” (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). A piano recital by internationally acclaimed soloist George – Emmanuel Lazaridis will follow.
 
 
Keynote address:
Prokopios Pavlopoulos, former President of the Hellenic Republic, full member of the Academy of Athens, emeritus professor at the School of Law of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
 
“Eli, Eli”           (prayer in Judeo-Spanish)
Mariangela Chatzistamatiou soprano
 
Piano recital
J. Brahms        Ballade No. 1 in D minor, Op. 10
F. Liszt             Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178
George – Emmanuel Lazaridis piano
 
The event will be interpreted into Greek Sign Language.