Victims of the Second World War Honoured
On 8 May, flowers were laid at the Paneriai Memorial and at the monument to Taras Shevchenko, a leader of the Ukrainian national movement and writer, on behalf of Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, to commemorate the victims of the Second World War.
"The tragedy of the Second World War, no matter how far removed in time, will always remain a painfully close lesson of history. In the face of evil, the strength and nobility of those who resisted, who defended their own dignity and that of others, who in the darkness of the Holocaust rescued a persecuted fellow-citizen condemned to death, who fought for the right of their nation, of their neighbour, and often a complete stranger, to exist, to live, shine out. Today, we honour the victims of war, while remembering that, thanks to the sacrifice of countless people, priceless examples of heroism - the truest monument to Freedom - have been preserved for future generations.
The history of the Second World War must also be taught as a warning: the dictators eager to make history cannot be stopped by appeasement, and blindness to the suffering of others only increases the sense of impunity of the aggressor, and with it, the scale of the tragedy. And sometimes, all it takes is the sincere courage to help those who fight heroically and sacrifice, as the people of Ukraine are doing today, to stop evil," the Prime Minister said.