March 2005 may well be seen as a turning point in the history of Yad Vashem. The inauguration of the New Museum, and the exceptional attention the event attracted across the globe, has placed Holocaust remembrance back in the forefront of commemoration and education worldwide (see Inauguration of the New Museum at Yad Vashem). Sixty years after the end of WWII, Europe is once again examining its past, looking at the present and preparing for the future, and Yad Vashem is ready and willi`ng to provide the tools necessary for such an undertaking.

This year, as Europe celebrates the 60th anniversary of liberation, Holocaust Remembrance Day focuses on the liberation itself (see The Anguish of Liberation and the Return to Life). For the survivors, VE Day was the beginning of an arduous road towards a new life, while dealing with the traumas of the old. Sixty years on, we salute their remarkable strength in rebuilding their lives—both in Israel and abroad—in the contributions towards the societies and countries in which they live, as well as their efforts in Holocaust commemoration and education for the next generations (see Hearing It from the Source).