Commemoration
State of North Carolina Holocaust Commemoration
The 2023 State of North Carolina Holocaust Commemoration will be held in-person Sunday, April 16, 2023, 3:30-5 pm, at the NCSU McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman St., Raleigh, NC 27606. Seating will be safely distanced.
The Keynote Speaker will be Holocaust survivor Dr. Zohara Boyd. Born in 1942, Dr. Boyd grew up in Poland under Nazi occupation. By obtaining the documents of a Polish Catholic family, her Jewish parents were able to escape the ghetto and hide in plain sight. After the war, her family emigrated to Canada in 1949 and arrived in the U.S. in 1951. Dr. Boyd is professor emeritus of English from Appalachian State University and has spoken about her Holocaust experience throughout the state.
The Candle Lighting Ceremony honors four groups: the millions of victims of the Holocaust; the soldiers who liberated the concentration camps, slave labor camps, and detention centers; the Righteous Among the Nations (non-Jews who risked theirs lives to save Jews and other persecuted groups; and the victims of genocide and hate crimes in the world.
The Annual Commemorations feature
- A Holocaust survivor, child of survivors, or Holocaust scholar as the guest speaker
- Presentations by state officials, clergy, and others
- A candle-lighting ceremony
View media coverage of the 2022 commemoration.
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah in Hebrew) is a day set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust and for reminding Americans of what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred, and indifference reign. The United States Holocaust Memorial Council was created by Congress in 1980 to lead the nation in civic commemorations and to encourage appropriate Remembrance observances throughout the country.