Remembrance ceremony at the Illinois Holocaust Museum

Over 200 people attended The Holocaust Then and Now: 80 Years of Remembrance ceremony at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie on Sunday, January 26, 2025.

The 90-minute ceremony was held to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday, January 27, in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. January 27 was chosen to commemorate the victims because that was the date Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland was liberated by the Russian Red Army in 1945. This year marks 80 years.

The ceremony emcee was Matthew Seidner, a museum board member, of Chicago. A memorial candle lighting ceremony was held where survivors lit seven candles. Steen Metz of Lincolnshire, a Holocaust survivor from Denmark, lit one of the candles with assistance from Amanda Friedeman, associate director of education at the museum. Memorial prayers were conducted by Senior Cantor Andrea Markowitz at Am Shalom in Glencoe.

Consul General of Israel Yinam Cohen and Consul General of Germany Michael Ahrens spoke for approximately 12 minutes each.

The remote keynote speaker was Tracy Perrelli, Acting Deputy Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, U.S. Department of State. She spoke about the importance of Holocaust commemoration and the role of the U.S. in promoting education, remembrance, and justice.

The date January 27 commemorates the killing of six million Jews, two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population, and millions of others by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 on November 1, 2005.