At the initiative of the UK’s ambassador to Lithuania, HE Simon Butt, Fania Yocheles Brantsovsky, one of the Jewish partisan veterans being subjected to “war crimes investigations” by Lithuanian prosecutors, was asked to give a talk and lead a walk through the streets of what had been the Vilna Ghetto during the Holocaust in Lithuania. Fania was incarcerated in the ghetto from its first day, 6 September 1941, through to its last, 23 September 1943, when she and Dobke Develtov (now of Los Angeles) escaped through a hole in the wall to join up with the Jewish veterans in the forests where both women fought heroically against the Nazis and their collaborators.

The participants in today’s event to honor Fania Brantsovky and, by extension, the Jewish partisans generally, were:

HE Mr Alois Buchta, Ambassador of the Czech Republic

HE Mr Laurids Mikaelson, Ambassador of Denmark

HE Mr Peter Noszko-Horvath, Ambassador of Hungary

HE Mr Donal Denham, Ambassador of Ireland

HE Mr Jose Luis Solano, Ambassador of Spain

HE Mr John A Cloud, Ambassador of the USA (he will be accompanied by his daughter)

HE Mr Simon Butt, Ambassador of the United Kingdom

Mr Kestutis Sadauskas, Head of Delegation, European Commission

Mr Habib Massoud, Head of the Office of the Canadian Embassy

Mr Alexander Zenz, Charge d’Affaires of Austria

Mr Jussi Soini, Charge d’Affaires of Finland

Mr Jerome Sautier, Charge d’Affaires of France (Mr Sautier will be accompanied by his successor, Mr Philippe Seigneurin).

Mr Ruud Bakkers, Charge d’Affaires of the Netherlands

Mrs Eva Nilsson-Mansfeldt, Charge d’Affaires of Sweden

Mr Dirk Roland Haupt, Deputy Head of Mission, Germany

UPDATE: A subsequent clarification noted that the Polish ambassador, who had to leave today for Warsaw, sent his deputy. The Czech ambassador was ill and sent his deputy to the lecture and walk.