Pope Francis has written a letter to his friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka of
Buenos Aires on the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day which is marked
on January 27th. The letter will be read out Monday evening at a concert
in Rome entitled “Violins of Hope”.In the hand written letter to Rabbi Abraham Skorka, the Pope the describes the Holocaust as a horror and a disgrace to humanity that must never be repeated.
It will be read out on Monday evening at a concert at Rome’s Parco della Musica entitled “Violins of Hope” commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Pope writes that the audience will be hearing pieces including works by Barber, Vivaldi and Beethoven, but he stresses that behind the sound of music, the hearts of each of those present will be able to make out the silent sound of tears.
To add to the poignancy of the evening, twelve violins that survived the Holocaust will be played together for the first time at the concert. The instruments were discovered and restored by Israeli violin maker Amnon Weinstein.
Among them is a violin that accompanied the deportees to the gas chambers of Auschwitz and another one thrown from a train en route to the camp.