Holocaust Center Hosts Day of Remembrance

Hundreds came to the on Sunday afternoon, not just to remember the Holocaust that took the lives of some 6 million Jews during World War II, but to collectively say, "never again."

Visitors at the annual Yom HaShoah Holocaust Day of Remembrance entered the center to a recitation of the names of those who perished, read by volunteers as part of a worldwide memorial program launched in 1989. The ceremony included recitations, responsive readings and a candle-lighting ceremony.

Abe Weberman, president of the Holocaust survivors group Shaarit Haplaytah Organization, expressed great concern for the number of survivors who have since died or who are very ill.

"The pain they carry cannot be forgotten," he said. "Our story must be told to our children and grandchildren for generations to come. We must never forget."

To ensure the remembrance continues, the center has developed "Portraits of Honor: Our Michigan Holocaust Survivors," a new exhibit that was dedicated after Sunday's Yom HaShoah ceremony. The computerized display contains the stories and portraits of 400 Holocaust survivors, accessible through a touch-screen panel.

Dr. Charles Silow, who is a child of Holocaust survivors, said the idea for the exhibit came to him during a conversation with a friend.

"We talked about the importance of looking into the eyes, into the faces of our Holocaust survivors, in order to see their resilience and their pain," he said.

The portraits of survivors were being used as a traveling exhibit in the late 1990s, but the dream was to have a permanent home for them. "Today, our dream has become a reality," Silow said.

Shari Ferber Kaufman, who co-chaired the exhibit, said she was raised with her parents' stories of surviving the Holocaust.

"You look at them, and you realize they are our inspiration," she said.

To her parents and other survivors, Kaufman added, "You lived the world's greatest tragedy. 'Portraits of Honor' will ensure that you will be remembered forever."

The "Portraits of Honor" exhibit will be online in about two weeks at portraitsofhonor.org.

You may see the exhibit at the Holocaust Memorial Center, on Orchard Lake Road just north of 12 Mile Road, during regular hours from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday-Thursday (last admission at 3:30 p.m.) and from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday (last admission at 1:30 p.m.).