Holocaust Survivors Commemorate Yom HaShoah

Several survivors of the Holocaust, who were children at the time of Nazi power, opened a week of Yom HaShoah commemoration by lighting six white candles at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie on Sunday.

The crowd of some 200 was told that while each  represented one million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, the program focused especially on the 1.5 million Jewish children who did not survive. The Music of the Children of the Holocaust was presented by the Reform Cantors of Chicago, the North Shore Havura of Rabbis, and the Chicago Milwaukee Association of Synagogue Musicians.

Cantor Michael Davis, from the Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism, directed this year’s program. He said the childhood theme was chosen because most of the survivors today were children during the devastation. Among the liturgy, several of the songs were lullabies.

“Lullabies in many cultures can have a dark meaning too. The mother sings a sweet song to the baby but unburdens herself at the same time,” Davis said.
The song I sang "Dona, Dona" is a good example of that. In the context of the Holocaust it is a statement of horror framed as a lullaby.

Lillian Polus Gerstner, Director of Special Projects at the museum, said the commemoration is meant to honor the memories of those who were lost as a reminder for the .  

“The lessons hopefully serve to improve the world that is to be,” Gerstner said.