Our 2025 Holocaust Commemoration Event, which took place in Bardejov, Slovakia from June 24th to 26th was very successful. Guests from Slovakia and around the world thanked us for the meaningful and impressive three-day event and ceremony.

This year’s theme was Eighty Years Since the End of WWII: The Importance of Memory & Preservation, and it began with a Welcome Dinner on the 24th in the beautifully restored Beith Hamidrash. Following the dinner, guests gathered in one of the former Mikvah rooms for an interesting presentation by Dr. Shay Pilnik, Director of the Fish Center at Yeshiva University, New York, and a conversation between Dr. Pilnik and Mr. Fish. The evening concluded with a screening of the film Bardejov which premiered in March 2024 and has since been selected for numerous international film festivals.

The following morning, a tour of Jewish Bardejov was led by our local tour guide, Ľuboslava Stachová. Participants were guided through the Jewish Suburbia Buildings, Jewish Cemetery and Bikur Cholim Synagogue while learning about the rich history of Jewish Bardejov. The tour continued after lunch visiting Bardejov main square and other Jewish spaces within the city.

A festive dinner took place on Wednesday when guests from Bardejov and other parts of Slovakia joined our group. Following dinner, guests and Bardejov locals gathered for our Commemoration Ceremony in the Holocaust Memorial. It was moderated by a TV anchor from Bardejov TV station, Mrs. Martha Mochnacká. We were pleased to welcome descendants and friends who arrived especially for this event, including students from the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University in New York, representatives from the Slovak Jewish Communities from Prešov and Košice, church dignitaries from Bardejov, City officials, members of Bardejov’s parliament, and local residents of Bardejov.

The ceremony opened with a student video focused on the topic “Never Again” which won first place in last year’s Art Contest. It was followed by the traditional lighting of the memorial candles in front of the memorial name tablets, during which each student recited an additional meaning behind each of the thirteen candles.

Bardejovers from around the world also took part in our ceremony: Dr. Marc Klapholz, descendant of the Abrahamovic and Edelman families from Bardejov, recited the Kaddish prayer, Dr. Shay Pilnik sang El Maleh Rahamim, and Zakaria Seghrouchni, a descendant of the Schondorf family from Bardejov, read the “Poem without an End”, written in Hebrew by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai.

Local high school students, Bronislava Mlynarovičová and pianist Kristián Jančošek, gave a moving rendition in Hebrew of the song “Hachol Yizkor” (“The sand will remember”,) written by Israeli poet Natan Yonatan with music by Israeli composer Nachum Heiman.

The talented children from Blue Art School Children’s Choir and their teacher Marta K’metova, performed a moving rendition of the song “Light a Candle” in Hebrew, English, and Slovak. The lyrics emphasize the power of light to banish darkness and to open hearts, suggesting that even in the darkest times, there is always a way to find a glimmer of hope and joy.

We heard speeches from BJPC founder, Mr. Emil A. Fish and from Vice Mayor of Bardejov Mr. Peter Petruš. We also watched a video speech from H.E. Gautam A. Rana, US Ambassador to Slovakia, and heard the letter from H.E. Eitan Levon, Israel Ambassador to Slovakia, that was sent to us for the event.

Following the speeches, the finalists of our annual Essay and Art Contests were invited to the stage to receive certificates. This year, the number of submissions far exceeded the ones received in previous years. 63 artworks were submitted from 9 schools, and 16 essays from 5 high schools. We are very thankful for the students’ growing interest and for our cooperation with local teachers and organizations. 

A special addition to this year’s ceremony was the lighting of candles in memory of children from Bardejov who died in the Holocaust. The personalized candles were prepared for our commemoration ceremony by the Shem V’ener organization. The Hebrew meaning of the organization’s name is “a name and a candle” and their mission is to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive for all future generations by honoring and memorializing victims’ names. Each candle is dedicated to one person and includes their name, the place and date of birth and death and the names of their parents. Each student lit 7 candles and recited the children’s names and their age when they died. We hope to continue to create personalized Memorial Candles until all the children and adults whose names are inscribed on the Memorial Tablets are included.

The evening concluded with light refreshments outside of the Old Synagogue followed by a lively performance inside the Synagogue by the Kaschauer Klezmer Band from Kosice.

It was a moving three-day event and we hope those of you who were not able to join us this year, will be able to join in the future.