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Kristallnacht commemorative lecture
7:30pm | November 9, 2008
Beth Israel Synagogue
4350 Oak Street
Keynote Speaker 2008
Dr. Robert Krell
The annual Kristallnacht lecture in Vancouver commemorates the "Night
of Broken Glass" of November 9, 1938, when synagogues and Jewish
places of business all over Germany and Austria were destroyed by
Nazi hoodlums – an event which is generally regarded as a
major escalation of the Nazis’ anti-Jewish program that eventually
culminated in the Holocaust. Each year’s Kristallnacht observance
includes a commemorative and educational lecture preceded by the
traditional candle-lighting ceremony in memory of the six million
Jews killed by the Nazis. The lecture, by leading scholars, writers,
researchers and thinkers, helps the community gain a deeper understanding
of the events of the Holocaust, its implication for society and
on the community. Following the lecture, members of the audience
may gather for a question-and-answer session with the speaker.
The Kristallnacht commemorative program is sponsored jointly by
the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society and by Congregation Beth
Israel, with funding from the Combined Jewish Appeal of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Vancouver, from Congregation Beth Israel,
and from the Gottfried Family Endowment Fund of the VHEC.
The Kristallnacht commemoration provides an opportunity for members
of the Vancouver Jewish community, together with civic leaders and
representatives of other faiths, to honour the memory of the victims
of the Holocaust. |
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Charlette Shulamit Ottolenghi
Soloist at the 2008 IHRD Commemorative Concert |
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day Event is a multi-cultural, commemorative program, held annually, in partnership with a community group every year and with the Norman Rothstein Theatre (Vancouver West Side Theatre Society).
In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating January 27th as an annual, International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. With the declaration, came a flurry of public inquiries and the expectation that the VHEC would act as the lead organization to mark this occasion. Because of the international scope of this newly enacted Remembrance Day, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre conceived and initiated this program as a partnership with the Norman Rothstein Theatre.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day embodies the intent of the United Nations General Assembly resolution and transforms it into a tangible reality. This offers the community a unique opportunity to come together and reflect upon the detrimental effects of racism and genocide on all people. This event will serve to bridge communities, who may have been disparate in Europe but now have common bonds here in Canada.
Information for 2009 to be announced.
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Yom Hashoah 2008 | Songs of Remembrance, Hope and Peace
Featured children's choirs from across Metro Vancouver as well as the UBC Children's Opera performing Brundibar with special guest Ela Weissberger, original cast member and survivor of Theresienstadt. |
The Yom HaShoah Commemorative Event features a community-wide commemorative
concert which attracts over 400 people and is held annually in Vancouver
to mark Yom HaShoah, the day on which Jews world-wide mark and remember
the Holocaust and corresponds to Nisan 27 on the Hebrew calendar.
The event first began as an initiative of Vancouver Holocaust survivors
in the 1950s.
It became an annual program of the Vancouver Holocaust Education
Centre when the centre opened in 1994. It is organized by members
of the VHEC’s 2nd Generation Group.
The Jewish community benefits from having a public and collective
commemoration of the Holocaust, to remember the people who perished
and the communities, the culture and the way of life that was lost.
The event brings together survivors, members of the second and future
generations, as well as members of the Jewish and non-Jewish communities
in support, reflection and hope.
The commemorative event transforms the official proclamations
of both the Canadian House of Commons and the British Columbia Legislature
into a tangible reality.
In 2003, Yom HaShoah was proclaimed as Holocaust Remembrance Day
in Canada, by the House of Commons, stating that this day “will
now be officially observed by the entire country”. The House
voted unanimously to create Holocaust Remembrance Day, to be observed
on the day corresponding to the Yom HaShoah date on the Jewish calendar.
Similar memorial days have been proclaimed in every province, including
British Columbia, to be marked in perpetuity.
Monday, April 20, 2009
More information to be announced.
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Yom HaShoah commemoration at the BC legislature
Premier Gordon Campbell, many legislators, and over 60 Holocaust survivors from BC participated in the annual Yom HaShoah commemoration at the BC legislature. Coordinated by Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, this year’s ceremony was particularly moving, and included several survivors who live in B.C. and who participated for the very first time in a public ceremony about the Holocaust. |
12 Noon | Sunday May 4th, 2008
Schara Tzedeck Cemetery: Holocaust Memorial Monument
Marine Drive and 7th Avenue, New Westminster, BC
Service Includes
Ana Policzer, 2nd Generation Speaker
Candlelighting in memory of the six million who perished
Two services are held each year at the VHCS Holocaust Memorial
located at the Schara Tzedeck Cemetery in New Westminster. The High
Holidays cemetery service takes place on the Sunday between Rosh
Hashana and Yom Kippur. The Yom Ha Shoah cemetery service takes
place on the Sunday before or nearest to Yom HaShoah. Both services include Hebrew
and English Tehillim (Psalms), El Moleh Rachamin, (memorial prayer)
and candlelighting in memory of those who perished.
watch a brief video
Information for 2009 to be announced |
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