Magazine 48 - Winter 2008 - Yad Vashem

one day after a special ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, during
which Shalev was personally awarded the Légion d’Honneur by French
President Nicolas Sarkozy. In a moving and eloquent speech,
Sarkozy—who noted that a visit to Yad Vashem prior to his election
“changed his life”—remarked: “The Legion of Honor I present today
is for you and for Yad Vashem, whose international reputation and
importance are a result of your determined activity that is suffused with
passion and inspiration.”
Avner Shalev was appointed Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate
in 1993. From the beginning of his tenure, Shalev strived to redefine the
direction and tools of Holocaust remembrance and education, introducing
a far-reaching multiyear re-development plan that included opening an
International School for Holocaust Studies, enlarging Yad Vashem’s
archives, libraries and research facilities, and building a new Museum
Complex. He is also Chief Curator of the Holocaust History Museum
that opened in March 2005.
“France is a very important country; its culture, recognition and
world status, its key role throughout history, its large Jewish community
and the fact that the French president himself is devoting his precious
time to grant me this award—all this is very significant,” Shalev said on
receiving the honor. “I often think of my grandparents whom I never
knew, of my mother’s tears each time she thought of her sisters who
perished in the Holocaust… All this now comes together through the
awareness that remembering the Holocaust is part of a greater culture,
a global one. This award means that France believes that the activities
of Yad Vashem, which I am privileged to lead, have significantly contributed
to French, European and universal identity. This is very moving for me.”
International Recognition
for Yad Vashem
Prince of Asturias Award
and Legion of Honor
The Prince of Asturias Award Ceremony at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, Spain. The Yad Vashem delegation sits on the left of the stage.
The Legion of Honor certificate presented to Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev
www.yadvashem.org for videos of the Prince of Asturias ceremony
and Avner Shalev’s speech (also available as text)
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