“We remembered one of the most horrific and violent crimes in the history of humanity January 27 with thousands of other people around the world.

“Marking the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on January 27, 1945, we remembered the more than six million men, women and children brutally murdered by the Nazis only because they were Jews. It is difficult to conceive this shocking number, but it contains millions of lives destroyed, of dreams shattered, unutterable pain, hopelessness and horror.

“We are very grateful to have with us today as the Šiauliai Jewish Community remembers the victims of the Holocaust this January 27 students and teachers who have joined us from the Gegužės Gymansium and the Romuva Gymnasium in Šiauliai. We are also grateful for the presence of Šiauliai deputy mayor Egidijus Elijošius,” the Šiauliai Jewish Community reports.

The anniversary began at the stone marker at the intersection of Trakų and Ežero streets in Šiauliai marking one of the ghetto gates in the Šiauliai ghetto. Students used lit candles to form a star of David there. Speakers recalled the atrocities of the Holocaust and participants lit candles and placed stones and flower arrangements at the monument. The event moved to Righteous Gentile Square where rescuers who saved Jews from the Holocaust were remembered.