On June 3, 2020, a meeting organized by the „Liepājas ebreju mantojums ’’ foundation dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Memorial to Liepaja Jews- victims of the Holocaust, took place in Šķēde.
The event was attended by members of the Liepaja Jewish community, representative of the Liepāja municipality, N. Vecvagare, Russian Consul General in Liepāja A. Belonosov, as well as S. Zaharjin – leader of the project, Jacob Berlin – technical director of its construction, architect R. Gabaliņš, experts on Jewish religion and traditions R. Suharj, E. Kaplan and director of the foundation I. Ivanova.
Observing all the precautions necessary during the quarantine caused by the coronavirus, the meeting participants remembered the tragic events that occurred in Šķēde during the Holocaust. Speakers reminded about all the difficulties that the team of S. Zaharjin had to face in order to open the memorial in due time.
I. Ivanova in her address to the meeting particioants noted:
“… memorial in Šķēde is our tribute to the Jews of Liepāja – to everyone who died during the Holocaust. It is our responsibility to ensure that the truth about this tragedy is not distorted and is not written down for the sake of political ambitions.
The Holocaust remains an eternal reminder that one must not be silent when democratic foundations are undermined and people become victims of violence justified by ideology. In such places and on such days, we must again and again recall our duty to resist any attempt to deny the Holocaust or to justify any crime against humanity, not to mention genocide.
T his is our degree of responsibility, humanity and at the same time one of the guarantees that we can prevent the recurrence of such terrible acts.
Eternal memory to the victims of the Holocaust.
Thanks to everyone who supported our MEMORY project. ”