- Title: ISRAEL-BUTKEVICIUS Lithuanian PM Butkevicius visits Yad Vashem
- Date: 8th September 2015
- Summary: JERUSALEM (SEPTEMBER 8, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER ALGIRDAS BUTKEVICIUS VISITING THE HALL OF NAMES AT YAD VASHEM HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM PORTRAITS AND STORIES OF HOLOCAUST VICTIMS BUTKEVICIUS LOOKING AT HALL OF NAMES BUTKEVICIUS PORTRAITS AND STORIES OF HOLOCAUST VICTIMS VARIOUS OF BUTKEVICIUS ATTENDING CEREMONY IN HALL OF REMEMBRANCE 'ETERNAL FLAME' MONUMENT IN HALL OF REMEMBRANCE BUTKEVICIUS RAISING LEVEL OF 'ETERNAL FLAME' MONUMENT IN HALL OF REMEMBRANCE NAMES OF NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS ON FLOOR OF HALL OF REMEMBRANCE, BUTKEVICIUS LAYING WREATH BUTKEVICIUS SIGNING YAD VASHEM'S GUEST BOOK GUEST BOOK BUTKEVICIUS RECEIVING PRESENT FROM YAD VASHEM BUTKEVICIUS MOTORCADE LEAVING
- Embargoed: 23rd September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Jerusalem
- City:
- Country: Israel
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAUTJ5XXGV7WZ7TFM1RSIP2RH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius visited Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem on Tuesday (September 8), embarking on a three-day visit to the region in an effort to strengthen relations.
Butkevicius started his tour at the Holocaust History Museum before taking part in a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance and visiting the Children's Memorial.
Later in the day Butkevicius participated in the annual ceremony commemorating the murder of the Jews of Lithuania during the Holocaust and 72 years since the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto.
Lithuania was annexed along with neighbouring Baltic states by the Soviet Union under a 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact, gaining independence in 1991. After World War Two, the legacy of the Holocaust was virtually blacked out.
The capital Vilnius was known across the Jewish world as the Jerusalem of the region due to its once vibrant cultural and religious life.
Lithuania's Jewish population numbered around 220,000 when the Nazis invaded in 1941 and just over 10,000 survived. German squads were assisted by Lithuanian auxiliaries in killing Jews. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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