Redaccion
The Auditorium Ciudad de el Teatro de Alcbendas organized an event today in memory of the victims of the Holocaust (in Shiá, in Hebrew), whose international day took place on January 27, marking 80 years since the opening of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Over 500 students from Areteia, Brains, Ibn Gabirol, Swiss, San Patricio, Greenwich, Los Sauces, María Teresa y RunnyMeeda, Alcbendas, Arula, Alalpardo, Los Ríos, and Ágora in our city participated in this emotional tribute to the six million Jews, as well as other minority groups such as the Roma, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Spanish Republicans, and others who were victims of the Nazi genocide during World War II.
Among the attendees were the mayor of Alcobendas, Rocío García Alcántara (PP), the spokesperson for the Embassy of Israel in Spain, Itzhakov, the director of the Sefarad Center, Jaime Moreno Bau, and the Secretary General of the Jewish Community of Madrid, Mateo Leal.
The mayor emphasized that one of the main goals of holding this tribute event for students is «education, prevention, and promotion of democratic values as a guarantee of respect and coexistence» to prevent «the hatred, intolerance, and violence imposed by citizen indifference» and stressed that «Alcobendas is a land of welcome, tolerance, and measure (…) and will always be a city of dignity, memory, and justice for the victims.»
Candles and prayers in memory of the victims
During the tribute, Albert Barbouth, a survivor, and Patricia Weisz, the daughter of a survivor and president of the Violeta Friedman Foundation, lit a candle in memory of all Jewish victims. Additionally, five other candles were lit in memory of those who took the risk to speak the truth, about the members of various minorities who suffered from Nazi barbarism, who exercised any resistance, including the right among nations and the honor of preserving the memory of the victims and the survivors who rebuilt their lives.
The program also included a prayer by Rabbi Moisés Bendahan and a minute of silence in memory of the victims, and Albert Barbouth shared his survival story of Shoá after two years in hiding and being deported to a concentration camp.
The Municipal School of Music and Dance in Alcobedas participated in the performance of the tribute, including the main theme from the movie Schindler’s List.
