THE MEMORY OF JAN ZWARTENDIJK COMMEMORATED AT THE EMBASSY OF LITHUANIA IN THE HAGUE
Dutch Honorary consul to Lithuania Jan Zwartendijk was conferred posthumously a Lithuanian State Award, The Life Saving Cross, for the rescue of Jews during the Second World War. The award was presented to Jan Zwartendijk’s son Robert and daughter Edith at the ceremony, which took place on the 16th of February at the Embassy of Lithuania in The Hague. In 1940, Jan Zwartendijk issued 2300 permits to enter Curacao for the Jewish refugees, who had fled German-occupied Poland. This permit has enabled them to receive a transit visa to Japan, issued by the Japanesse consul Chiune Sugihara, which has given them an opportunity to leave Soviet-occupied Lithuania.
The Ambassador of Lithuania to the Netherlands Darius Semaska, who bestowed the award, said that Jan Zwartendijk’s act of courage reveals his remarkable personality and is worth the highest respect and gratitude. According to the Ambassador, ‘his deeds will always remain an example of generosity to us all’.
The ceremony was organized on the 16th of February – The Day of Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania. The guests of the commemoration ceremony could enjoy a chamber music concert by the ‘Daniel Quartet’, which was founded in 1974 in Israel. The members of the quartet Misha Furman (Lithuania), Joanna Pachucka (Poland), Quirine Scheffers (the Netherlands) and Itamar Shimon (Romania) currently live in the Netherlands. They actively perform as soloists as well as in collaboration with other prominent artists, organize the Daniel Music Days festival, teach at the Rotterdam Conservatory and give masterclasses.
