On January 27 each year, the United Nations (UN) commemorates the Holocaust. One of the darkest times in human history when six million Jews and five million others were subjected to systematic killings aiming for a Genocide of the Jewish People and others.
70 years after the Holocaust, we witness new forms of hatred, racism, brutality and horrors in several parts of the world. This makes it all the more important that the lessons of the past should be remembered so that similar evils will never be repeated.
The ceremony included the following:
Opening remarks by H.E. Mr. Simon Roded, Ambassador of Israel to Thailand
- Moment of silence
- Lighting the 1st candle
Message from Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, introduced by Mr. Hongjoo Hahm, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
- Lighting the 2nd candle
Musical interlude: Theme from “Schindler's List” movie, by Silpakorn University students
- Mr. Rapeepat Munyanon – Cello
- Mr. Pisoln Ponthongthin – Clarinet
- Mr. Tossapon Somroopdee – Piano
Speech by H.E. Mr. Peter Prügel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Lighting the 3rd candle
Message from H.E. Mom Luang Panadda Diskul, Deputy Minister of Education, delivered by Ms. Duriya Amatavivat, Assistant Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education
- Lighting the 4th candle
Musical interlude: Adagio from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto by Silpakorn University students
Speech by Assistant Professor Chaicharn Thavaravej, President of Silpakorn University
- Lighting the 5th candle
Closing speech by Mr. Nuttapon Meredith from the Faculty of Arts, the representative of Silpakorn University students
- Lighting the 6th candle
Musical interlude: Nocturn in C# minor by Chopin from Movie-The Pianist by Silpakorn University students
Screening: “Eli Wiesel” short biography
Elie Wiesel was a Nobel-Prize winning writer, teacher and activist known for his memoir “Night”, in which he recounted his experiences surviving the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel passed away on July 2016, at the age of 87.