By Nicole Holman
News Assistant
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Holocaust Remembrance Day will be honored at CSUSM with an event that will allow students to experience the history of the Holocaust in an effort to keep these issues alive within the minds of people across the world.
At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22 in the USU Amphitheatre, ASI will be hosting a Yom HaShoah event for Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Yom HaShoah was inaugurated in 1953 as a Holocaust Remembrance Day and is honored worldwide. Already a national holiday in Israel, Yom HaShoah is a day where people across the globe can stop, remember and learn from the events of the past in hopes of creating a brighter future.
This event will feature multiple speakers, presentations and traditional Yom HaShoah practices. It will also highlight Holocaust survivor, Fanny Krasner Lebovits, who will be sharing her experiences with those in attendance.
Incorporating traditional Yom HaShoah elements such as a candle ceremony, this event will also include a poetry reading by several CSUSM students. Another speaker and CSUSM history professor, Dr. Alyssa Sepinwall, will be giving a presentation about the Holocaust Memorial on campus, the White Rose.
“Remembering the Holocaust is an extremely important thing. It is not just a Jewish issue, it is a human issue,” said Wendy Bryer, the program director for this event.
Though the Holocaust ended 70 years ago, organizers say that the pain and scars left behind on the world remain fresh in the minds of millions of people.
“There are only a few years left to hear these important first-hand accounts and we believe it is important to bring Fanny’s story to our campus,” Bryer said. “Even if you have heard a Holocaust Survivor’s story, every story is different and it is our duty as humans to listen, remember and say never again.”
Attending this event will help educate students as well as allow them to pay respects to those who survived the Holocaust. In order to commemorate the history and experiences of Holocaust survivors, students and community members are encouraged to attend this free event on April 22.