On 23 September, the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews, the Kaunas IX Fort Museum hosted an Hour of Remembrance with the procession of the Road of Memory.
School communities and residents of Kaunas gathered at the fort, embraced by the evening sun. The event began with a visit to the Holocaust-related exhibitions at the site. At 8 pm, in the courtyard of Fort IX, an artistic composition commemorating the terrible stories of the prisoners began. It featured Yiddish-language pieces and a sensitive story about the fate of the family of Nachman Shapiro, a former professor at Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University.
When the museum courtyard was completely dark, the participants walked with candles in their hands to the main monument—the Death Field. The darkness, the candles, the people, and the pebbles fused the history and memory of what happened here during the Second World War.
Teachers and students from the Tolerance Education Centres took part in the commemoration: Ariogala Gymnasium, Kaunas Veršvų Gymnasium, Kaunas Juozas Grušas Art Gymnasium, Kaunas VMU Ugnė Karvelis Gymnasium, Kaunas Jonas and Petras Vileišiai School, Vilnius Saulėtekis School – Multifunctional Centre, and representatives of Meilė Lukšienė Educational Centre in Marijampolė, Sūduva Gymnasium, Marijonų Gymnasium, Ryto Gymnasium and Šaltinio Pro-Gymnasium in Marijampolė.
The event was organised by the Kaunas IX Fort Museum in cooperation with the Secretariat of the International Commission for the Remembrance of the Victims of the Lithuanian Jewish Genocide. A European March of the Living (EMOTL) representative also participated in the Hour of Remembrance – Road of Memory procession.
