Holocaust survivor Ruth Fishman of West Hartford will be the guest speaker at the commemoration to honor the martyred six million at Beth El Temple on Sunday, April 19, 2015.

Submitted photo

Submitted by Larah Winn, Mandell JCC

The full name of the day commemorating the victims of the Holocaust is “Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah” – In Hebrew, literally translated, as the “Day of (remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism.” This year, the Mandell JCC, along with the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut (JFACT) and Voices of Hope will hold a Yom Hashoah Commemoration honoring the memory of the martyred six million at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, 2015, at Beth El Temple, 2626 Albany Ave., West Hartford.

The names of victims and deceased survivors will be read prior to the commemoration from 6-7 p.m. Members of the community are invited to submit names to be to included to Sheri Gaudet at 860-231-6351, [email protected]. Survivors and their families are invited to participate in the candle procession at the beginning of the commemoration.

Holocaust survivor Ruth Fishman of West Hartford will be the guest speaker. Born in Cologne, Germany in 1935, Fishman was 9 years old when she was sent to the Dutch concentration camp of Westerbork. After 10 months, she was transported to the Czechoslovakian concentration camp, Theresienstadt. When the war ended, Fishman returned to Holland and later immigrated to the United States. Today, Fishman, a mother of three and grandmother of seven, speaks about her experience in schools, synagogues and other local organizations.

The Yom Hashoah Commemoration is free and open to the community.

In addition to the April 19 event, a second reading of the names taken from the list of names provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for the Days of Remembrance, will take place on Monday, April 20, 2015 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at the Mandell JCC in the Chase Family Gallery, Zach’s Campus, 335 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, CT.

The Mandell Jewish Community Center is open to everyone and supported by funds raised by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, a recipient of funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, a member of the JCC Association of North America. Programs subject to change. For updates, follow the Mandell JCC on Facebook, Twitter and www.mandelljcc.org.