On Thursday, Irene Shashar, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, will address MEPs during a plenary session in Brussels, to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will open the solemn sitting at 11.30, followed by a musical interlude by bandoneon player Mr Marcelo Nisinman.
After Ms Shashar’s speech, MEPs will observe a minute’s silence. The ceremony will close with a musical performance by Sheva Tehoval, soprano, and Mr Marcelo Nisinman of “Kaddish” by Maurice Ravel.
Irene Shashar
Born on 12 December 1937 as Ruth Lewkowicz, Irene Shashar survived the Warsaw ghetto. After her father was killed by the Nazis she escaped the ghetto with her mother through the sewers to another part of Warsaw where she was a “hidden child” for the rest of war. She and her mother then moved to Paris. After her mother’s death, she moved to Peru where she was adopted by relatives. After studying in the US, she moved to Israel at the age 25 and became the youngest faculty member to hold a post at the Hebrew University. Today she lives in Modiin, Israel. In 2023 she published her biography “I won against Hitler”.
