European Day of the Righteous
The European Day of the Righteous is a celebration established in 2012 by the European Parliament to commemorate those who have stood up against crimes against humanity and totalitarianism with their own moral responsibility. By this celebration the concept of Righteous as worked out by Yad Vashem is broadened to all genocide cases and forms of totalitarianism thanks to the commitment of Moshe Bejski.
The European day of the Righteous is celebrated every year on 6 March, the anniversary of Moshe Bejski's death.
History
The call for the European Union and the Council of Europe to set up a European day in the memory of the Righteous came from a hundred prominent Italian and European personalities of the world of culture under the aegis of non-profit association Gariwo, the forest of the Righteous. It soon received the support of important institutions such as the Presidency of the Republic of Poland, the Václav Havel foundation, the association Libera founded by father Luigi Ciotti and many other influent entities from all over Europe. The most famous signatories include Umberto Eco, Dario Fo, Daniel Goldhagen and many others.Written Declaration n. 3/2012 was presented on 16 January 2012 by Hons. Gabriele Albertini, Lena Kolarska-Bobinska, Niccolò Rinaldi, David-Maria Sassoli and defines the aims of the European day of the Righteous in the following way:
The European day of the Righteous was approved by the European Parliament on 10 May 2012 with 388 signatures.
Celebrations
The activities related to the Righteous are supported at the international level by Gariwo, the forest of the Righteous, the Garden of the Righteous for the Armenians in Yerevan, the writer, founder of NGO Gariwo Sarajevo and activist for civil courage Svetlana Broz who is struggling to create a Garden of the Righteous in Sarajevo and such figures as the Righteous and witness to the Rwanda genocide Yolande Mukagasana.2012
- The heritage of Václav Havel, Charter 77 and the European day of the Righteous on 8 February 2012 in Prague. Conference with such prestigious hosts as Milan Horáček, Czech-German politicians and former Member of the European Parliament, the signatory of Charter 77 and philosopher Daniel Kroupa, the member of the Charter Pavel Bratinka. Gabriele Nissim presented for the first time in the Czech Republic the secret documentary The youths of anti-politics about Havel and Charter 77 that he himself secretly shot in 1986 in Prague.
- The Party for the Righteous on 6 March 2012 at Teatro Franco Parenti of Milan in which the tales of the witnesses and the speeches by exponents of the worlds of culture and art alternated to the screening of footage and documentaries and the readings from Gabriele Nissim's recent book, La Bontà Insensata.
- Concert of the Righteous on 30 March 2012 in Warsaw. The concert, to which among others el the Italian Ambassador to Poland H.E. Riccardo Guariglia, former dissident Adam Michnik and actress Maja Komorowska have assisted, was performed by pianist Janusz Olejniczak playing music by Frédéric Chopin, and Gaetano Liguori.
2013