International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be observed in Iran for first time

Starting Thursday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be observed in Tehran, despite Iranian President Ahmadinejad's public denial of the Holocaust's existence.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day was created in a UN General Assembly decision, deeming January 27, the day Auschwitz was liberated, a universal day for Holocaust commemoration.

	Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
	Photo by: AP

A main memorial event will take place Thursday at the UN New York headquarters, and information centers in 63 different UN-member countries have received both written materials and documentaries on the Holocaust, surprisingly including centers in Tehran, Cairo and Beirut.

In addition to receiving the multimedia materials, information center heads have undergone a special UN sponsored course in Berlin both to educate them in Holocaust history, as well as provide training in organizing their own local Holocaust memorial events.

Kimberly Mann, head of the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Program, told Haaretz on Tuesday that Tehran, Cairo and Beirut are in fact amongst the major cities who received Holocaust education texts and films.

Mann, who has been working for the UN in various positions since 1993, said that the Iranian's UN information center workers also underwent the special preparatory UN course.

The UN chose 'Women in the Holocaust- heroism and compassion' as the theme of this year's International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in New York, to be held Thursday.

Mann told Haaretz that she believes that the history of women in the Holocaust is an important subject that to this day has not received the exposure it deserves. She further stated that the outreach program is proud to showcase the bravery that women exhibited during the Holocaust, which is both an important chapter in Holocaust history, as well as a valuable lesson for today.

A group of women who are Holocaust survivors will participate in Thursday's ceremony, one of whom will be one of the keynote speakers.

According to Mann, interest in International Holocaust Remembrance Day has been gradually growing since the holiday's inception as has the number of ceremonies commemorating the Holocaust worldwide.