Kaliningrad Promotes Tolerance

KALININGRAD, Russia [FJC] — On Sunday, November 16, Kaliningrad’s ‘Zarya’ Cinema hosted an event dedicated to the promotion of tolerance. The event was organized by the ‘Holocaust’ Scientific and Educational Center, together with the Jewish community of Kaliningrad – a member of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia – the Moscow City Administration, and the Ministry of Education of the Kaliningrad Region.

The event was organized to coincide with the seventieth anniversary of the anti-Semitic pogroms in Germany and Austria, known as “Kristallnacht” (Crystal Night).

The hall of the theater was packed with participants, among whom were instructors on the theme of the Holocaust from all over the country, teachers and students from the Ohr Avner Chabad Day School and various educational institutions in Kaliningrad – from Kindergarten right through to the university level. This solemn gathering was also attended by representatives from the Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad Region Administrations, the consuls of various European countries, the heads of many regional organizations and international organizations with local operations. Apart from leaders and members of the Jewish community of Kaliningrad, the commemorative ceremony also involved representatives of various national minorities.

The program was led by Alla Gerber, the Head of the ‘Holocaust’ Scientific and Educational Center. A message from Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev was read by the Minister of Culture of Kaliningrad Region, Mikhail Andreyev. Other speakers included Chief Rabbi of Kaliningrad Region David Shvedik, German Vice-Consul in Kaliningrad Michael Scholz, and other leading political and social figures.

The concert featured Moscow’s infamous ‘Chasidskaya Capella’ Men’s Choir, conducted by Alexander Tsalyuk, a reading by Germany-based musician and writer German Vik from his memoires “Sunset on Koenigsberg”, and a performance by songwriter and ‘Echo Moskviy’ radio host Natella Boltyanskaya.