30/01/2026
Yesterday, 29 January, as part of the House of Tolerance Festival and our activities marking Holocaust Remembrance Day – Shoah: We Remember, we hosted a ceremonial screening at the Jewish Cultural Center Ljubljana and Mini Teater, in cooperation with the British Embassy in Slovenia, of the documentary The Commandant’s Shadow (Poveljnikova senca), written and directed by Daniela Völker.
The audience was addressed by Robert Waltl, Director, and Helen Teasdale (Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy). Waltl welcomed the gathered excellencies, ambassadors, diplomats, friends, allies, and supporters, and emphasized that the screening formed part of the January edition of the House of Tolerance Festival. He expressed sincere gratitude to the Embassy of the United Kingdom for partnering with us on Shoah: We Remember, and thanked everyone present for coming.
He recalled a simple but difficult act from earlier this week: saying the names. He underlined that tonight’s film continues that same commitment—because the Holocaust is not a number or a distant historical fact, but the destruction of real people, real lives, and real futures. We remember not to remain in the past, he said, but to protect the present. Waltl noted that the documentary asks us to face what remains: the legacy of the crime, the silence around it, and our responsibility today. At a time when hate returns in words and when some attempt to minimize or excuse past crimes, our response must be calm but clear: we do not accept antisemitism, racism, or dehumanization. He closed by reminding us that remembrance is not only a ceremony, but a shared commitment to human dignity—ending with: “Never again.”
Helen Teasdale said the British Embassy was honoured to support the screening of this powerful and unflinching documentary, and thanked Robert Waltl and the entire Mini Teater and Jewish Cultural Center team for their extraordinary work in promoting tolerance, remembrance, and creativity. She commemorated the six million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the N***s, and also all those persecuted under N**i rule—including Roma communities, gay people, and disabled people—as well as the victims of other genocides.
She highlighted that it was a privilege earlier this week to stand on the same stage with other diplomats and read the names of more than 600 Slovenian Jews and Roma murdered in the Holocaust, reaffirming: we remember them. Teasdale stressed that this evening was both a moment to commemorate and to learn—because intolerance and bigotry are not confined to the past; prejudice, persecution, and hate are tragically growing across the world. We must relentlessly challenge antisemitism wherever it appears.
Referring to this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day theme, “Bridging Generations,” she emphasized that remembrance is not the responsibility of survivors alone: memory must be carried forward, linking past and present from one generation to the next. She also noted that the British Parliament has recently passed the Holocaust Memorial Act, enabling a national Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to be built beside the Houses of Parliament, at the heart of UK democracy—both as a permanent tribute to the lives lost and as a reminder of where hatred and indifference can lead. With fewer survivors each year, she underlined that education and the defence of truth remain our strongest protection. That is why documentaries like The Commandant’s Shadow matter: they shine a light through the shadows of ignorance and denial, and open space for dialogue and honest reckoning about how trauma, guilt, and survival echo across generations—among victims and perpetrators alike.
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Včeraj, 29. januarja, smo v okviru Festivala Hiša strpnosti in naših dejavnosti ob dnevu spomina na holokavst – Shoah: Spominjamo se – v Judovskem kulturnem centru Ljubljana in Mini teatru v sodelovanju z Britanskim veleposlaništvom v Sloveniji pripravili slovesno projekcijo dokumentarnega filma The Commandant’s Shadow (Poveljnikova senca), scenaristke in režiserke Daniele Völker.
Občinstvo sta nagovorila direktor Robert Waltl in Helen Teasdale (namestnica vodje misije, Britansko veleposlaništvo). Waltl je pozdravil zbrane ekscelence, ambasadorje, diplomate, prijatelje, zaveznike in podpornike ter poudaril, da je projekcija del januarske edicije Festivala Hiša strpnosti. Britanskemu veleposlaništvu se je iskreno zahvalil za partnerstvo pri pobudi Shoah: Spominjamo se, vsem prisotnim pa za njihov prihod.
Spomnil je na preprosto, a težko dejanje iz začetka tega tedna: izrekanje imen. Poudaril je, da nocojšnji film nadaljuje isto zavezo – kajti holokavst ni številka ali oddaljeno zgodovinsko dejstvo, temveč uničenje resničnih ljudi, resničnih življenj in resničnih prihodnosti. Spominjamo se ne zato, je dejal, da bi ostali v preteklosti, temveč da bi zaščitili sedanjost. Waltl je izpostavil, da nas dokumentarec poziva, naj se soočimo s tem, kar ostaja: z dediščino zločina, s tišino okoli njega in z našo odgovornostjo danes. V času, ko se sovraštvo vrača v besedah in ko nekateri skušajo zločine preteklosti zmanjševati ali opravičevati, mora biti naš odziv miren, a jasen: antisemitizma, rasizma in razčlovečenja ne sprejemamo. Sklenil je z opominom, da spominjanje ni le obred, temveč skupna zaveza človeškemu dostojanstvu – z besedami: »Nikoli več.«
Helen Teasdale je povedala, da je Britansko veleposlaništvo počaščeno, da lahko podpre projekcijo tega močnega in neizprosnega dokumentarca, ter se zahvalila Robertu Waltlu in celotni ekipi Mini teatra ter Judovskega kulturnega centra za njihovo izjemno delo pri spodbujanju strpnosti, spomina in ustvarjalnosti. Ob tem je počastila spomin na šest milijonov judovskih moških, žensk in otrok, ki so jih nacisti umorili, pa tudi na vse, ki so bili preganjani pod nacistično oblastjo – vključno z romskimi skupnostmi, geji in invalidnimi osebami – ter na žrtve drugih genocidov.
Poudarila je, da ji je bilo prej ta teden v čast stati na istem odru z drugimi diplomati in brati imena več kot 600 slovenskih Judov in Romov, umorjenih v holokavstu, ter s tem ponovno potrditi: spominjamo se jih. Teasdale je izpostavila, da je bil ta večer hkrati trenutek spomina in učenja – kajti nestrpnost in fanatizem nista omejena na preteklost; predsodki, preganjanje in sovraštvo po svetu žal naraščajo. Antisemitizem moramo neomajno izzivati povsod, kjer se pojavi.
Ob letošnji temi dneva spomina na holokavst, »Povezovanje generacij« (Bridging Generations), je poudarila, da spominjanje ni odgovornost le preživelih: spomin je treba prenašati naprej, povezovati preteklost in sedanjost iz generacije v generacijo. Omenila je tudi, da je britanski parlament nedavno sprejel Zakon o spominu na holokavst, ki omogoča izgradnjo nacionalnega spomenika holokavstu in izobraževalnega središča ob poslopju parlamenta, v samem središču britanske demokracije – kot trajni poklon izgubljenim življenjem in kot opomin, kam lahko vodita sovraštvo in brezbrižnost. Ker je preživelih vsako leto manj, je poudarila, da sta izobraževanje in obramba resnice naše najmočnejše varovalo. Zato so dokumentarni filmi, kot je The Commandant’s Shadow, pomembni: prinašajo svetlobo skozi sence nevednosti in zanikanja ter odpirajo prostor za dialog in iskreno soočenje s tem, kako se travma, krivda in preživetje odmevajo skozi generacije – tako med žrtvami kot tudi med storilci.
