Commemorations will shine a spotlight on survivors’ new lives in Australia
"REBUILDING Lives" is the powerful theme for this year's NSW Jewish Board of Deputies' (JBOD) Yom Hashoah commemorative events.
“REBUILDING Lives” is the powerful theme for this year’s NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ (JBOD) Yom Hashoah commemorative events.
A highlight for the two main communal functions – at UNSW’s Clancy Auditorium from 7pm on April 8, and Masada College from 7pm on April 11 – will be testimonies from Holocaust survivors Kitty Lowinger, Aneta and Joseph Weiner (via video) and Paul Drexler and Diane Armstrong (in person).
They will shed light on their experiences about not only their childhood in Europe before and during the Holocaust, but also their journeys and new lives in Australia.
At the Remembrance and Name Reading Ceremony from 10.30am on April 8 at the Martyrs’ Memorial at Rookwood Cemetery, journalist and author Fiona Harari will speak about what inspired her to write her new book about the Shoah called We Are Here.
Danny Hochberg, chair of JBOD’s Shoah Commemoration Committee, said the theme exploring the post-war journeys of Australia’s 27,000 Shoah survivors is a tribute to their strength, determination and spirit, which has contributed so much to Australian society today.
Hochberg added, thanks to sponsors including Woolworths, JBOD has distributed 2600 Yizkor candle kits – up from 1500 last year – to Sydney shules, Jewish schools and Maccabi clubs.
AJN STAFF
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