The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Life!

April 18, 2009

Never forget ceremony's message

By Michelle James

Never forget, the message of Yom HaShoah, the annual Holocaust Day of Remembrance, is the goal of today’s ceremony at Mountain State University’s Carter Hall.

“We want people to never forget this horrid crime that the Germans did and to also know that it could and actually is happening again in places like Bosnia and in Iraq, before the demise of Saddam Hussein’s regime,” said Tom Sopher, president of Temple Beth El.

The ceremony, which is in its 15th year, will begin at 1 p.m. with the ringing of the Lewin Bell Tower, which was built from donations made by Max Lewin in remembrance of family members killed in the Holocaust.

As in years past, the ceremony will include a speech by Margaux Seigel, who will keep the promise she made to Lewin, a Holocaust survivor, as she reads his story.

Local photojournalist Paul Corbit Brown will light the seventh candle, representing current victims of genocide. Corbit Brown will also share his experiences of genocide in Rwanda.

Josh Franklin, student rabbi at Temple Beth El, will serve as the guest speaker and master of ceremonies.

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