The cities of Urbana and Champaign and the University of Illinois are participating in the commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day at 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 27th. The virtual program is organized and hosted by Illini Hillel.
You can register for the event here.
Additional details are in the press release below.
Champaign, Urbana and the University of Illinois come together to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Virtual Tribute Organized By Illini Hillel
1/25/2022 – Champaign County, IL – On Thursday, 1/27/2022, 2:00 PM Central Time, Champaign, Urbana and the University of Illinois will commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a special virtual program put together by Hillel at the University of Illinois. The program will be hosted on Zoom at http://www.illinihillel.org/weremember and on Hillel’s Facebook Page.
The event will include words from the mayors of Urbana and Champaign, University administration, students and community members. Holocaust survivors and their family members will share some of their personal stories.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day memorializes the 6 million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany as part of a systematic, state-sponsored persecution and genocide during World War 2. Millions of civilian Jews and other minorities were forced into slave labor camps and mass executed by the Nazis throughout the war.
Erez Cohen, Executive Director of Hillel said that: “It is important for our community to learn about the Holocaust. Our Jewish community is still deeply affected by the horrific outcome of losing a third of world Jewry. If our community learns how Nazi Germany worked to dehumanize Jews and other minorities in the past, it would be able to better stand up against hate and descriminiation today. We are grateful for the communal leaders who stood and spoke about the importance of this day. “
The online webinar is held instead of an in-person exhibit about art created in Auschwitz concentration camp. The exhibit put together by the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland was supposed to have its inaugural US showing in Champaign. The surge of COVID-19 cases locally and nationally led to the decision to postpone the exhibit to April.
“It is also important to remember that antisemitism was at the heart of the Holocaust, and that we must remain vigilant in confronting antisemitism in all its forms.” Said Mayor Deborah Feinen of Champaign in her recording for the webinar.
The online program is open and free to everyone and requires a short registration on Hillel’s website – http://www.illinihillel.org/weremember
For further information and interviews, contact Erez Cohen, Illini Hillel – Cohen Center for Jewish Life, 217-220-4702, erez@illinihillel.org
Top photo from Illini Hillel Facebook page.