The annual State of Kansas Holocaust Commemoration, an official state observance to memorialize the victims of the Holocaust, will be held next month in Topeka, Kansas.
The commemoration will be held on Monday, April 28, at 1 p.m. in Topeka at the Topeka Civic Theatre (3028 SW 8th Ave., Topeka, KS 66606).
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly will present the Kansas Proclamation for the Days of Remembrance which states that “the people of the State of Kansas should always remember the terrible events of the Holocaust and remain vigilant against hatred, persecution and tyranny…”
The theme of this year’s program is the lost Jewish community of Eyshishok, with the keynote address by Dr. Lindsay MacNeill, a historian from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). Eyshishok was a shtetl destroyed during the Holocaust, located in modern-day Lithuania, and is the subject of the USHMM exhibit “Tower of Faces.”
Kansas clergy, political leaders and students will participate in the program. Holocaust survivors, World War II veterans and second-generation sons and daughters will be recognized.
The program, which will last for about an hour, is hosted by the Kansas Holocaust Commission. Commission members are appointed by the Governor for the purpose of organizing the annual commemoration.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is available at mchekc.org/kansas-holocaust-commemoration. Bus subsidy applications for Kansas schools are also available at that link.
For those unable to attend, the program will be available on the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education YouTube channel after the event.
The Missouri Holocaust Education and Awareness Commission is also sponsoring a commemoration — a 21-panel, USHMM exhibit titled “Some Were Neighbors: Collaboration & Complicity in the Holocaust” will be on display at the Missouri State Capitol (201 W Capitol Ave., Jefferson City, MO 65101) from April 7 to 11.