A public tender has been announced for a conceptual sculptural and architectural project to erect a monument to Lithuanian residents who rescued Jews during the Holocaust.

The Vilnius city municipality and the Lithuanian Culture Ministry said the project is to be guided by principles of historical justice for honoring, commemorating and recalling at a national and international level Lithuanian residents who saved Jews during the Nazi occupation, for creating a respectful and socially effective solution in continuance of traditions of respecting the Jewish people, for representing appropriately the content and foundation of the site commemorating Righteous Gentiles, and for contributing to the education of the general public regarding history and the world.

Criteria for judging projects submitted include context, social efficacy, aesthetics, the quality of the space created, cost and financial soundness. The site selected for the monument is on Ona Šimaitė street near Maironis street in Vilnius where a commemorative stele stands announcing this as the location for a future monument to Righteous Gentiles, those who rescued Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

The maximum ceiling of the total budget for designing and erecting the statue is 250,000 euros.

The winner of the tender will complete a sales agreement with the authorized purchasing organization for completing the project. Prize will be awarded to the top three projects, with 5,000 euros for first place, 3,000 for second and 2,000 for third. Submission must be made by October 15, 2020.

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust commemoration institute, issues rescuers of Jews the title of Righteous among the Nations and medals. The Lithuanian state award for rescuers of Jews is called the Order of the Cross of Life-Saver and is awarded by the Lithuanian president.

A total of 917 Lithuanian residents were recognized as Righteous Gentiles between 1966 and 2020. Their names are engraved in the Garden of the Righteous among the Nations at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. After Lithuanian independence, 1,507 people were awarded the Cross of the Life-Saver between 1992 and 2019.

Details available in Lithuanian here and in English here (English documents begin with abbreviation EN followed by a document number and a title in Lithuanian).

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