The Zekelman Holocaust Center will host its annual community-wide Yom Hashoah commemoration on Sunday, April 23 at 2:30 p.m. The event will take place in person and be livestreamed as well.
This year’s program will be led by local clergy Rabbi Aaron Bergman and Cantor Daniel Gross of Adat Shalom Synagogue. Survivors and children of survivors from the Detroit-area community will light memorial candles, and community members will read selected poems that express communal grief for the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Pianist Marty Liebman will provide musical accompaniment. Free admission and valet parking will be provided.
Following the event, all who wish to light a memorial candle are invited to do so at the center’s Eternal Flame.
This year’s event is presented in cooperation with C.H.A.I.M. (Children of Holocaust Survivors Association In Michigan); Hidden Children and Child Survivors Association of Michigan; Michigan Jewish Conference; Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families, a Service of Jewish Senior Life; The Shaarit Haplaytah Organization; and the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive.
This year, Yom Hashoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is April 18. The day is dedicated to remembering the millions of lives lost to Nazi persecution as well as reflecting on the courageous acts of those who resisted the brutal regime.
The center is also inviting the community to participate in “Unto Every Person There Is a Name,” an international Holocaust memorial project that gives participants the opportunity to read the names of the 6 million Jews who died, among them 1.5 million children.
From now through April 30, all are invited to record a video of themselves reading the names of Holocaust victims and uploading their video to social media. Tag @HolocaustCenter on Facebook and Instagram, and @HolocaustMI on Twitter, using the hashtag #TheHCRemembers.
In addition, participants are encouraged to tag friends and nominate them to take part in the project as well.
To receive a list of names and instructions on how to participate, visit: www.holocaustcenter.org.
