Eftihia Simha, one of ICJW’s representatives to the UN in Geneva, attended the opening of the exhibition ‘Lest We Forget’ to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 2020.

The exhibition took place at the Hall des Pas Perdus at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva. It was co-organized by the Delegation of the European Union, the Permanent Missions of Austria and Germany, the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN Human Rights Office, and the World Jewish Congress.

The installation of large-scale portraits of Holocaust survivors was designed by the German-Italian artist Luigi Toscano. Before Geneva, the exhibition had been shown in public spaces around the world, including Germany, Austria, and the US, including at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

During the opening event, between the speeches, several songs were performed by the “La Châtaigneraie Children’s Choir”. Emotional moments were shared among all the attendees. (Click here for a video of one of their songs.)

During his speech, the artist Luigi Toscano explained the purpose of the exhibition as providing a human angle to help ensure that the world will never forget the Holocaust, and to inspire people to fight hatred and antisemitism today.