(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)April 11, 2010

(NEW YORK, NY) – On April 11, the Czech Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Consulate General in New York, in cooperation with the Center of Holocaust and Genocide Studies of the Ramapo College, held a unique Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Commemoration at the Bohemian National Hall, the home of the Czech culture in Manhattan. The evening centered around a performance by the CantaNOVA Chorale of the Ramapo College, under the direction of Professor Lisa Lutter, of Robert Convery’s “Terezi­n Cantata.” The New York-based composer’s moving work, which was accompanied by a small string and piano ensemble, is a musical rendering of nine poems by Jewish children incarcerated at the Terezin Ghetto and Concentration Camp and subsequently murdered by the Nazis.

Attended by over 300 members of the diplomatic corps (including 27 U.N. ambassadors) and local Czech and Jewish community, the commemoration’s featured speaker was Dr. Jan Fischer, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, who was visiting New York on his way to Washington, D.C., where he participated at the Nuclear Security Summit organized by President Obama. In his remarks, Prime Minister Fischer reiterated his country’s commitment to commemorating and learning from the Holocaust. As the son of a Jewish father who survived the horrors of Terezin and Auschwitz, he stressed, this was a matter about which he felt strongly.

The Prime Minister used this opportunity to greet and recognize the survivors of the Terezín Concentration Camp living in the area of New York and New Jersey. They were presented with the Karel Kramář Medal, which the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic has the power to bestow individuals for proven merits in restoration of human rights, freedom and democracy. It is named after the first Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia after it achieved independence.

Also speaking at the event was Ramapo College President Dr. Peter P. Mercer who presented Prime Minister Fischer with a certificate of commemoration and recognition from the College. The program was the brainchild of Mr. Eric Mayer of Wayne, New Jersey. A survivor of the Holocaust from Worms, Germany, who as a young teenager was a member of the Resistance in southern France, two years ago shared his experiences at a Holocaust commemoration held under the auspices of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Beth Haverim Shir Shalom of Mahwah. Also participating in the program were the singers of CantaNova Chorale under Professor Lisa Lutter. Mr. Mayer was so enthused that he was determined to bring their work to the attention of a wider audience.

The end result was the memorable program described above. And Mr. Mayer would be the first to admit that it would not have been possible without the engagement and determination of Dr. Martin Palous, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, Dr. Petr Válek, his Legal Adviser of the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Ms. Eliška Žigová, Consul General of the Czech Republic in New York.

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