55th Annual Community-Wide Holocaust (Virtual) Commemoration
Schedule
- Sunday morning, April 19 at approximately 11 am we will premiere a conversation featuring Holocaust survivor Ilse Reiner with a personal Yom HaShoah message to the world.
- Following this watch a special message from Anat Sultan-Dadon, the Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States here
Community-wide Yom HaShoah Commemoration
Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, is held each year, on the 27th day of Nisan. Adopted by Israel, in 1951, this year it begins at sundown on April 20.
In 1964, the survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust) who lived in the Atlanta area organized and constructed The Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery. They did this to have a place where they could go and recite Kaddish (mourner’s prayer) for members of their families who were murdered during the Holocaust. The following year, they gathered for the dedication of the memorial and the inaugural community-wide Yom HaShoah commemoration ceremony.
Sunday, April 19, 2020, was to be the 55th consecutive year where the community would convene in front of the memorial. Sponsors of the event, Eternal Life-Hemshech, The Breman Museum and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta had planned another meaningful service.
Ilse Reiner, a survivor of Theresienstadt, was to be the featured speaker. But this cannot happen. The world is on hold. However, the memories of the Holocaust continue. To that extent, the planning committee felt it is important for Ilse’s message to be delivered.
Here, from her yard, with the blooming bushes behind her, she speaks to everyone.
ABOUT ILSE EICHNER REINER
Orphaned at an early age, Ilse Eichner Reiner was sent to the ghetto and concentration camp of Theresienstadt. Of 15,000 child prisoners there, she was one of 100 who survived - only to be deported to Auschwitz. Almost immediately, she was sent to a slave labor camp and then miraculously escaped from a death march. Following her liberation by the Russians, and with great resilience, Ilse built a life enriched by family, culture, and joy.
Jointly sponsored by Eternal Life – Hemshech, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.
YOM HASHOAH MESSAGE
FROM ANAT SULTAN-DADON CONSUL GENERAL OF ISRAEL TO THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
