YOM HASHOAH COMMEMORATION

The Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo’s Yom HaShoah Commemoration will pay tribute to the Liberators and Righteous among the Nations who stood up to save the Jews during the Holocaust. 

Six individuals will be lighting one candle each in memory of the Six Million Jews killed in the Shoah (Holocaust). The six individuals being honored included Stephan Lewy (Survivor and Liberator), Kurt Klein (Liberator), Tibor Baranski (Righteous among the Nations), Raoul Wallenberg (Righteous among the Nations), Oskar Schindler (Righteous among the Nations) and Aleksandra Drzewecka (Righteous among the Nations).  

Honorable Penny M. Wolfgang and Drew Kahn will narrate the biographies of the honorees.

 Following on the theme of memory, The Buffalo News staff that created the 2017 special newspaper insert, Survivors of the Holocaust, will also be honored and will give a brief presentation on how the project was created and its impact. The Buffalo News honorees include Cathaleen Curtiss, director of photography; Mark Mulville, photographer; Mark Sommer, reporter; and Gene Warner, reporter. 

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Cellist Robert Hausmann will be preforming two pieces as part of the commemoration. One will be “Kaddish” by Composer Maurice Ravel. Mr. Hausmann performed this on a recent BPO trip to Poland at Auschwitz-Birkenau in memory of his great-grandmother who was killed there. 

“The perpetrators of the Shoah systemically murdered 6 million Jews including 1.5 million children. This day is dedicated to remembering their legacy, the resilience of the survivors and gratitude to Liberators and the Righteous among the Nations.” said Rachel Kranitz McPhee, Esq., Executive Vice President of the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo.  

The Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo (HRC) is dedicated to Teach the Lessons of the Holocaust, Remember the Survivors and Victims, and to Promote Social Justice, Civic Responsibility, and Human Rights. The HRC is grateful for the sponsoring support of the Buffalo Jewish Federation and Congregation Shir Shalom.  

 – Ellen Goldstein Jewish Journal of WNY