The Heschel community gathered to commemorate Yom HaShoah at the Holocaust Commemoration Committee’s annual program. This year, the community reflected on the story of the grandparents of Heschel parents Ayelet and Ilan Richter through video, archival footage, and personal testimony.

The program opened with a moving performance of “Inscription of Hope” by members of Heschel’s four choirs, including parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and students. The performance led into a film detailing four remarkable stories. To conclude the evening, the community heard from Ayelet and Ilan in a moderated conversation with Ariela Dubler.

The story of Ilan’s grandfather, Erno “Zvi” Spiegel, who courageously cared for and protected twin children subjected to Mengele’s experiments at Auschwitz, can be viewed here: https://www.pbs.org/show/the-last-twins/

In school, Heschel commemorated Yom HaShoah through a day of meaningful in-school programming, honoring both survivors within our community and the memory of those whose lives were tragically lost.

Heschel parent Dina Wizmur spoke with Grades 4 and 5, as well as the entire Middle School, sharing her grandparents’ powerful stories of survival, including the courageous actions of a righteous gentile who helped save her grandmother.

Grade 5 students engaged with Heschel’s Holocaust Commemoration Committee archives, along with their own family histories, to create and perform moving monologues representing members of the Heschel community who survived the Shoah.

In the High School, students heard from Lucy Fischer, mother of Lisa Waldstein (High School Art Teacher), who recounted her journey of escape from Vienna following the Nazi takeover, and the path that brought her to London, Trinidad, and ultimately the United States.

Throughout the day, community members visited the Beit Knesset, transformed into a Memorial Room featuring photographs of community members who perished in the Shoah, a חומת הזכרון (Memorial Wall), and candles available for lighting in remembrance.