The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC), Westchester Jewish Council (WJC), and UJA-Federation of New York will host the annual Countywide Yom HaShoah Commemoration Keeping the Memory Alive on Monday, May 6 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at the Garden of Remembrance on 148 Martine Avenue in White Plains, New York.
The program will feature a keynote presentation by Holocaust Survivor Annie Kleinhaus and a procession of Westchester’s rescued Holocaust Torahs, remarks from County Executive George Latimer. and a lighting of candles by college students who are members of Hillels of Westchester.
The event is held to remember the 6 million innocent Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust, and to reflect on the powerful lessons of this genocide that will hopefully resonate today, as reporting of antisemitic incidences are at an all-time high.
In addition to this annual event on Monday, HHREC has a number of other major developments coming up in the weeks ahead, including a dedication ceremony for the planting of a sapling grown from a tree referenced in Anne Frank’s Diary on June 11th at the Garden of Remembrance. This tree is one of six in the U.S. awarded by the Anne Frank Center USA in 2024 in recognition of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center’s commitment to education and sharing Anne Frank’s message of hope.
The HHREC has also received a significant increase in requests for Holocaust Survivors and Second-Generation Survivors from the HHREC Speakers Bureau to appear at area schools throughout the Hudson Valley and around the tri-state area, and 34 schools from the Hudson Valley participated in our Annual HHREC High School Institute this spring.
This event will be held rain or shine, and admission is free and open to all. For more information contact Millie Jasper mjasper@hhrency.org or Pam Goldstein pam@wjcouncil.org.
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center
Facts and Figures www.hhrecny.org
- HHREC works with over 35 Hudson Valley area teachers and students to help schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum.
- Since 1994, HHREC has brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights crimes to more than 3,000 teachers, and through them to thousands of middle and high school students in the Hudson Valley.
- The HHREC Speakers Bureau offers a unique resource for educators. Speakers include Holocaust Survivors and GenerationsForward second and third generation speakers. In the past academic year 29 speakers appeared at area schools (approximately 13,000 students).
- The HHREC Anna & Nicholas Elefant Library in White Plains offers a unique education resource about the Holocaust and human rights for area teachers and includes over 4,400 volumes of books curated by HHREC.
- The HHREC, Westchester Jewish Council, and UJA-Federation of New York present the Annual Westchester Countywide Yom Hashoah Holocaust Commemoration each year at the Garden of Remembrance at 148 Martine Avenue, White Plains. In 2023, a crowd estimated at close to 350 people attended the event that featured a keynote presentation by Holocaust Survivor Dr. Aliza Erber.
- In 2023, over 1,000 people from around the world attended HHREC Memory Keepers Story Hours on Zoom that featured HHREC GenerationsForward Speakers.
HHREC also works with community partners throughout the Hudson Valley area schools, synagogues, colleges, churches and civic centers in Westchester and the greater Hudson Valley area to fulfill their mission: to “enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. “ Their community partners include among others the Clark Center at Manhattanville College, Community of Holocaust Education Centers (USHMM), Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center at Yeshiva University, Iona University, Purchase College, SUNY, Westchester Business Council, Westchester Jewish Community Services, and the Westchester Jewish Council.
HHREC Executive Director Millie Jasper has been an invited guest speaker of Governor Hochul, County Executive Latimer, and many others, and chaired a session in Washington D.C. at the Association of Holocaust Organizations Conference in 2023.
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) and Westchester Jewish Council (WJC) will host the annual Countywide Yom Hashoah Commemoration Keeping the Memory Alive on April 28th from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Anne Frank Garden of Remembrance on 148 Martine Avenue in White Plains, NY. The event will feature a keynote speech delivered by Alan Moskin, a U.S. Army Liberator and member of the HHREC Speakers Bureau, and there will be a procession of Westchester’s rescued Holocaust Torahs.
On Wednesday night, May 1, 7 p.m., Temple Shaaray Tefila is sponsoring a unique Erev Yom HaShoah concert with musicians from the Boston Symphony. Mark Ludwig, Executive Director of the Terezin Music Foundation, will be narrating a multi-media presentation with music and archival video of the composers of Terezin and an examination of life/survival/death in the so-called Model Ghetto. Free attendance.
