Wilmette Synagogue Mourns Jews Who Died in the Holocaust

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is a memorial day set aside to remember and mourn the approximately 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

This year in preparation to commemorate Yom HaShoah, which is on April 18, , Wilmette has many on-going activities.

On April 15 the Academy students started placing 6,000 small yellow flags on the synagogue's lawn, in view of the Eden's Expressway, each representing 1,000 people killed. The color yellow recalls the yellow badges Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.

Congregants also heard an emotional lecture given by Maria Pruchno Lawrence author of the book Resilience which details her father's experiences during the war, the Dachau concentration camp and coming to America.

At 8 p.m. on April 18, the congregation will hold a communal Yom HaShaoh memorial service with survivors and their families. The evening will include prayer, stories and music. All participants will light memorial candles for those who perished. The Men's Club has sent out memorial candles to all families in the synagogue, to be lit on Yom HaShoah.

Remembering the victims of the Shoah is a sacred Jewish obligation and must be passed on to future generations to, never forget what happened.

Information provided by Beth Hillel Congregation Bnai Emunah.