The Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, Sing for Hope and Lang Lang International Music Foundation will present the program “We Are Here: A Celebration of Resilience, Resistance and Hope” on June 14.
This special livestreamed concert, which will be presented by a network of more than 100 organizations across the United States and world, commemorates the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 77th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
More than 100 supporting museums and partner institutions—from 26 states and countries, including Belarus, Canada, France, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland and South Africa—will air the 90-minute event, which begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Actors, musicians and civic leaders to be featured include actress and talk-show host Whoopi Goldberg; star soprano Renée Fleming; musician Billy Joel; pianist Lang Lang; sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer; actress Lauren Ambrose; Broadway star Lea Salonga; opera star Joyce DiDonato; actress Mayim Bialik; soprano and curator Julia Bullock; conductor and pianist Christian Reif; Broadway actor Steven Skybell; mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard; baritone Lester Lynch; and more.
“We are all inspired by the example set in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. ‘The Partisan Song,’ which begins and ends this program, speaks to the fight for social justice and fundamental human rights,” said Bruce Ratner, chairman of the board at the Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.
“Both the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the centuries-old pandemics of racism and anti-Semitism highlight the need for resistance and resilience,” said Sing for Hope co-founder Camille Zamora.
“In this time of rising anti-Semitism and global crisis, the themes of resistance, resilience and hope are more important than ever, and ‘The Partisan Song’ takes on even more resonance,” said National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene artistic director Zalmen Mlotek and executive director Dominick Balletta. “The song begins with the words ‘Never say this is the final road for you,’ and ends with the words ‘We Are Here.’ It is the song that binds together those who fight for justice.”
The program will also feature an interview by The Forward editor in chief Jodi Rudoren with Nancy Spielberg, Roberta Grossman and Sam Kassow about their film, “Who Will Write Our History,” which chronicles the story of Oneg Shabbat, the group that daringly preserved the history of the Warsaw Ghetto. The Forward is the event’s media sponsor.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, in which 13,000 Jews died fighting Nazi oppression in April and May 1943, was the largest single act of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.
