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The ceremony organized by the American Jewish Committee on June, 25, 2014, reminded of the 10th anniversary of the Museum – Memorial Site in Bełżec. Tomasz Kranz, the head of the State Museum at Majdanek, underlined that the former German death camp in Bełżec is a special place - the third biggest cemetery of the Second World War and also a memorial considered to be the one of the most touching architectonic-sculptural compositions which were created on grounds of the former death camps. The monument – thanks to “its unusual power of expression – contributes to our confrontation not only with the events that happened in Bełżec 72 years ago, but also with the whole heritage of the Holocaust.”
A string quarter performed some pieces of Dmitrij Szostakowicz during the ceremony.Many guests took part in the event e.g. the representatives of the American Jewish Committee with the Rabbi Andrew Baker, the representatives of the diplomatic corps – Stephen Mull, the ambassador of the USA, and the ambassador of the Israel, Zvi Rav-Ner, as well as the representatives of the ministries and local authorities. The letter from Małgorzata Omilanowska, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, was read by the Director General of the Ministry, Jacek Olbrycht. “Thanks to the Polish-American cooperation, including the key role of the American Jewish Committee – wrote the Minister – the ten year-old monument of Bełżec has become famous in the whole world, probably as the most beautiful monument which commemorates the Shoah victims.”
The ceremony ended with the prayer for the murdered, conducted both by the bishop Mieczysław Cisło and the Polish Supreme Rabbi Michael Schudrich, along with lighting the candles in the Ohel Niche.