Forgotten victims
January 21, 2011
International Jewish organizations have come together in an effort to commemorate hundreds of thousands of unnamed Holocaust victims.
Meeting in Berlin on Friday, the organizations announced that they have begun to identify, protect and memorialize thousands of forgotten Holocaust mass graves across Eastern Europe.
The German foreign ministry has pledged 300,000 euros ($408,000) to fund the project over the coming months.
Joint project
The initiative is coordinated by the Berlin office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in collaboration with the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the German War Graves Commission. They will oversee work by dozens of groups on the ground in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Poland.
Representatives will talk to witnesses, identify and protect mass graves, and establish dignified memorials.
Prior to the establishment of concentration camps, hundreds of thousands of Jews in Eastern Europe were rounded up by the German military, shot and buried in countless mass graves.
Germany has recently been recognized for its solidarity with Israel and support of Jewish interests. German Chancellor Angela Merkel received the 'Light Unto the Nations' award on Thursday from the AJC for her "outspoken support for the Jewish people."
Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (AP, KNA)
Editor: Rob Turner