Outdoor Exhibition Opening and Concert Held in Memory of Chiune Sugihara
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“History teaches us that humanity is more important than orders,” said Sergejus Kanovičius, Director of the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History, yesterday during events marking the 40th anniversary of Chiune Sugihara’s death and the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Lithuania.
A new outdoor exhibition dedicated to Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat recognised as Righteous Among the Nations, opened beside the “Moonlight” monument (12 Pamėnkalnio Street). The opening was attended by Sugihara’s son Nobuki Sugihara and granddaughter Madoka Sugihara, Juozas Olekas, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Emanuelis Zingeris, a signatory to Lithuania’s Act of Independence, as well as other Lithuanian politicians and foreign diplomats.
The exhibition’s three panels present the diplomat’s life, his decision to help others and his family’s ties to Vilnius. Visitors are invited to discover the story of the “visas of hope” issued in Kaunas in 1940, which helped thousands of Jews escape to safety. The exhibition also explores Sugihara’s life after the war, the belated recognition of his work and the stories of some of those he saved. The exhibition was curated by Dr. Mantas Šikšnianas, Renata Titovienė and Milda Krasko.
The evening continued with a “Concert of Remembrance and Friendship” at the Samuel Bak Museum. Students from the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art skilfully performed Lithuanian, Japanese and Hebrew works, including music by M. K. Čiurlionis, Balys Dvarionas, Makoto Shinohara and other composers.
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Photos by Paulius Račiūnas
