Reading of the Names

Please Note
This event takes place outdoors in front of the Consulate General of Italy in New York
(690 Park Avenue between 69th and 70th street)

No RSVP required

GIORNO DELLA MEMORIA 2025

Partners in the initiative are:
Centro Primo Levi
Italian Cultural Institute
Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò at NYU
Calandra Institute at CUNY
Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi
Magazzino Italian Art

Each January 27, we read the names of 9,700 Jewish men, women and children deported from Italy and the Italian territories between 1943 and 1945. The ceremony is open to the public and held outdoors, in front of the Consulate General of Italy. Everyone can join and read.

Giorno della Memoria (Remembrance Day) commemorates the day of 1945 in which Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Army. European countries and the UN mark this day with programs and ceremonies to create public awareness of the past, foster civil dialogue, and counter racism, intolerance, and xenophobia in today’s societies.

Uttering the names of 9,700 people who were deported to extermination camps is a human and spiritual act to remember those women, children, and men who were emarginated, deemed expendable, and remained unseen and unheard until they could be eliminated. They are not numbers, political or religious symbols. Not heroes, examples, or martyrs. We call their names as human beings.

Io ho visto Auschwitz, ho visto cosa significa uccidere un altro solo perché uno ha le armi e l’altro no. Non voglio che questo sia usato per giustificare la violenza di oggi. Forse Primo Levi aveva perso la speranza. Io vorrei vedere la gente parlare l’uno la lingua dell’altro, la lingua della pace su questo pianeta. Perché questo è l’unico che conosciamo. Stella Levi

I have seen Auschwitz. I have seen what it means to kill another person just because one has weapons and the other does not. I don’t want this to be used to justify today’s violence. I think that Primo Levi had lost hope. I still want to see people speak each other’s language, the language of peace on this planet. Because this is the only one we know. Stella Levi