The Sign of Remembrance of the Righteous of the world

A new art piece will decorate the wall of Telsiai Yeshiva – „The Sign of Remembrance of the Righteous of the world”, designed to commemorate the people who saved Jews. The creation of it was initiated by Telsiai city council together with Samogitian museum „Alka” and Vilnius Art Academy Telsiai Faculty. The author of the Sign of Remembrance is a sculptor, lecturer, docent Mindaugas Šimkevičius.

The project is partially financed by Telsiai City council, yet some funding is still required to complete it. The Samogitian museum „Alka” is asking the citizens of Telsiai, as well as all generous people, those who know that Telsiai is a city of Art, those who are close to the Jewish culture and the ones who saved someone or were saved by someone, even at the risk of losing their lives.

To join the initiative and help you can send donations to Samogitian Museum of Alka bank account - LT134010042800070145 (Luminor bank, AB), purpose of payment saying „Parama atminimo ženklui“ („Donation for the Sign of Remembrance“).

*The author doc. Mindaugas Šimkevičius about the idea behind the art: „It is a certain story that is being told on the front facade of the Yeshiva building. In the horizontal part the dedications appear and the words for the „Righteous of the World”, who risked their own lives to save Jewish people during the holocaust and to everyone else who were brave enough – or will be brave enough in the future – to save someone while risking or even sacrificing their own lives. These words are taken from Babylonian Talmud and „rewritten” on six local (Samogitian) stone slabs which will be fixed into the horizontal lower niches, and the two side niches will get bronze plaques/dedications. The vertical body of the art piece is made up by two objects, very close to each other thematically, but quite different from each other in physical appearance. First object, closer to the horizontal axis – bronze relief depicting the left side of a coat with a lapel and a Star of David shaped hole over the heart. On the sides of the hole, still visible – remainders of the yellow star, but the star itself is missing, it’s been torn off and trough the remaining hole only the red bricks of the Yeshiva wall can be seen. A little bit above that – on the white triangular part of the façade a Star of David is visible – those days it was a symbol of hope, rebirth and resurrection. The star (mosaic) is made from small stones. It’s like the small crumbs of hope of those who survived the Holocaust that now have spread out and started shining in this new symbol. And also it is a symbol to remember the Jewish people who did not survive – small, colorful stones, joint into the shared story of the Jewish nation – the suffering, the hope and the rebirth/resurrection.”