On April 24th, the Holocaust Museum of Oporto welcomed hundreds of students to mark Yom HaShoah for the fourth consecutive year. In addition to the regular visits from Portuguese schools, this year’s edition featured, for the first time, the participation of students from Salamanca, Spain.
Although January 27th (International Holocaust Remembrance Day) is the date most commonly associated with Holocaust remembrance in Portugal, since the museum’s inauguration the goal has been to commemorate Yom HaShoah (27th of Nissan), emphasizing Jewish resistance during World War II and the resilience of the State of Israel.
In addition to the school visits, which were received by the museum’s director, Dr. Michael Rothwell, the museum hosted reflective sessions on the Final Solution and historical antisemitism, drawing connections to contemporary antisemitism - particularly in light of the October 7 attacks and the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza.
The event also marked the opening of the exhibition “Simon Wiesenthal: Survivor. Witness. Nazi Hunter”, which explores the context of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp and the life of Austrian Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal. After the war, Wiesenthal devoted himself to tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminals, contributing to the capture of Adolf Eichmann, who was tried in Jerusalem in 1962.
Staying true to its mission of universal education, the exhibition was designed by Noah Elias Jakovljević of the Austrian organization Auslandsdienst Österreichs - Austrian Service Abroad, which sends young Austrians to institutions dedicated to Holocaust remembrance in several countries, including Israel, Portugal, the United States and China.
