Remembering the Shoah
THIS year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration will be themed “The Holocaust: Europe and Beyond”, looking at stories from Russia to Shanghai to North Africa.
THIS year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration will be themed “The Holocaust: Europe and Beyond”, looking at stories from Russia to Shanghai to North Africa.
Hosted by the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV), the event will take place on Thursday, May 5.
Holocaust survivor Gary Gray will present a live testimony at the event.
Born in Sosnowiec, Poland, in 1929, Gray was incarcerated at the age of 13 and worked for three years in a number of slave-labour concentration camps including Birkenheim, Brande, and Ludwigsdorf.
He was liberated at Reichenbach Sportschule in May 1945.
In 1957, two aunts living in Australia made contact with Gray. They were the only surviving members of his family, and without hesitation, Gray joined them in Melbourne.
He has written a book about his experiences in the Shoah, titled A Spoonful of Soup and other stories.
The commemoration will also feature video testimonies, the lighting of memorial candles, musical performances, and more.
President of the JCCV Jennifer Huppert encouraged the community to attend.
“The message of the Holocaust, even though it’s more than 70 years on, the message is still alive,” Huppert told The AJN.
She added that it’s pleasing to see the youth involved in the commemoration alongside first and second generation survivors.
“It’s also very important for the next generation, because if we don’t remember then unfortunately the mistakes of the past are repeated,” she said.
PHOEBE ROTH
The Yom Hashoah commemoration will be held at 7.30pm on May 5 at the Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University, Clayton Campus. Tickets are available from the JCCV on (03) 9272 5566 or from the Jewish Holocaust Centre on (03) 9528 1985.
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