Principal Aida Adiklienė opened the conference “The History of the Holocaust: A Bridge from the Past to the Future,” financed by the Goodwill Fund and held on November 25 at the Rožynas Pre-Gymnasium in Panevežys, Lithuania. She emphasized the institution she heads supports the recognition of human rights. In consideration of that, the gymnasium constantly emphasizes local history, including local Jewish history. “It says in the Universal Charter of Human Rights that everyone is born free and equal, with intelligence and conscience,” the principal said. “When we talk about the Holocaust, we are truly talking about our own history. We need to be glad that we have addressed this topic for more than ten years now at the gymnasium.” Adiklienė said the Holocaust is one of the most complicated topics and not all schools want to deal with it. She was disappointed that even now not all people accept people of other religions and ethnicities. She said there were clear signs of intolerance at work in our society.

Teaching the Holocaust requires a lot of work by educational institutions, and this conference was held to show teachers of Panevežys and the Panevežys region the positive experience of the Rožynas Pre-Gymnasium. In final remarks in her welcome speech, Adiklienė thanked the director of the Goodwill Fund for financing the project and called upon several other attendees to speak.

Vytautas Višinskis provided a brief overview of the work of the Goodwill Fund and expressed hope for continued productive cooperation in the future. The director said the fund enthusiastically accepts applications for support for education and teaching tolerance, but also for sports, religion and traditions. He said all projects must have a Jewish connection.

Gennady Kofman, chairman of the Panevežys Jewish Community, also addressed the assembly and praised a decade of successful cooperation with the Rožynas Pre-Gymnasium and its Tolerance Education Center. He said he hoped principal Adiklienė and Tolerance Education Center director Genutė Žilytė would continue to work just as actively in the future. A series of presentations by different primary school and gymnasium teachers followed in which they shared their experiences in teaching Holocaust history and recommended teaching aids and methods for the 6th through 12th grades. The conference had the air of a working meeting and discussion followed quickly upon the presentations.

The exhibit “The Anne Frank Story Today” was shown to participants. Gennady Kofman brought this traveling exhibit by the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum intended for exhibit in Eastern Lithuania to the Rožynas Pre-Gymnasium. The pre-gymnasium is now the third venue where the exhibit has been displayed. The primary item in the exhibit deals with the tragic fate of a Jewish family. Lessons for primary schools and gymnasia of Panevežys and Biržai were based on the exhibit.