Under the decisive impetus of Isaac Schneersohn, founder in 1943 of the Centre de documentation juive contemporaine, the foundation stone of the Tomb of the Unknown Jewish Martyr, dedicated to the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, was laid in 1953 at 17, rue Geoffroy-l'Asnier, in Paris. Three years later, the building was inaugurated with great pomp in the presence of numerous dignitaries and representatives of Jewish communities from around the world. This consecration of Schneersohn's visionary project is the culmination of a long road strewn with obstacles. This afternoon will be devoted to the French and international dynamics and issues at work in the creation of the forerunner of the Memorial, and will return, through images and archives, to the inauguration of 30 October 1956.
Opening – Jacques Fredj, director of the Mémorial de la Shoah.