Over forty appointments until Monday 23 February spread throughout the municipal area. Eighty entities involved on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026. The city ceremony, the central moment of this long and intense programming, Sunday, January 25th at 11am, As usual at the Teatro La Fenice. The show will be on stage The three nights of '43Three voices – Giorgio Bassani, Florestano Vancini, and Guido Fink – tell the story of one of the most dramatic chapters in our country's history.That night, in Ferrara, fascist squads rounded up Jews and anti-fascists. And they were responsible for the massacre at the Estense Castle, where eleven opponents of the regime were shot. It will be a journey of music and words inspired by the story. One night in '43 by Giorgio Bassani and the film of the same name by Florestano Vancini. The performance will be preceded by remarks from Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, the superintendent of the Venetian theater Nicola Colabianchi, and the president of the Jewish community Dario Calimani.
The Shoah was an offense not only to the Jewish people, but to all humanity.
After so many years – Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by Law 20 of 2000 to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust on the occasion of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945 – we are questioning this anniversary. Why? Today anti-Semitism is not just a memory. "Has what we have done all these years served any purpose?” it is asked Chief Rabbi of Venice, Alberto Sermoneta, at the presentation of the program of events linked to this anniversary. We live in a time of frightening ignorance, the same as in the past. In university corridors, in classrooms, where they try to exploit the truth. An anti-Semitism is being fomented that scares us. Cwhich forces us to undergo security checks when we enter and exit synagoguesa. CHe doesn't allow us to walk down the street freely wearing a kippah. What have we been talking about all these years for? We've only wasted time... "
"On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we should remember that the Shoah was an offense not only to the Jewish people, but to all humanity. And perhaps the Stumbling Stones should be raised a centimeter, so that we can truly stumble upon them and reflect on their meaning.”. He is echoed by the Vice President of the Jewish Community of Venice, Paolo Navarro Dina"We are living through difficult times and great suffering.. Not all former friends remain friends.”.
Meetings, film screenings, conferences, exhibitions, book presentations
The meeting, coordinated by City Council President Ermelinda Damiano, was attended, among others, by the director of the German Center for Venetian Studies, Richard Erkens, and the president of the Municipality of Venice, Murano, and Burano, Marco Borghi. This year, the city of Venice, Trivignano, and Marghera have already seen the laying of thirteen new Stumbling Stones, for a total of 210 stumbling stones in Venice, Designed by artist Gunter Demnig. The laying of the stones, before the final resting place of citizens deported for racial, political, and military reasons to Nazi extermination camps, has a profound symbolic value, keeping alive not only the memory but also the presence of those who never returned from those camps. This year, Holocaust Remembrance Day will once again bring numerous meetings, film screenings, conferences, exhibitions, and book presentations to Venice. Testimonies of a past that must not be forgotten and is still very much present.
The program, which is constantly updated, is available at the link https://www.comune.venezia.it/giorno-della-memoria, where it will also be possible to consult the calendar showing all the events planned day by day.
(Photo credits: Venice Municipality press office)
