The Yom HaShoah Commemoration will take place at 1:30 p.m. on April 12 at The White Theatre at The J (5801 W. 115th St., Overland Park, KS 66211).
This year the commemoration is chaired by Geri Crain, daughter of Holocaust survivor Alice Kern, a survivor from Sighet, Romania, who was interned in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen. The commemoration will feature a special tribute to the survivors with the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors — the second and third generation — singing “Zog Nit Keynmol” with the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy choir.
Reflecting on the importance of Yom Hashoah, Kern said, “Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate, wrote, ‘Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.’ My mother and Elie knew one another in Sighet, Romania, before they were deported. Yom Hashoah is a time to honor those who did not survive, and it is also a moment to come together — to reject despair in their memory and to affirm hope for generations to come.”
The Yom Hashoah commemoration is open to the public. Anyone unable to attend in person is invited to watch the livestream on the MCHE Kansas City YouTube channel.
The commemoration is organized by The J, Jewish Community Relations Bureau | American Jewish Committee and MCHE. Supporting organizations include Congregation Beth Shalom, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Jewish Community Foundation, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Vocational Services, KU Hillel, Lawrence Jewish Community Center, Kehilath Israel Synagogue, The New Reform Temple and The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
