Event honors Holocaust victims

The public is invited to the Augusta Jewish Community Center on Sunday to honor the 6 million European Jews killed during the Holocaust of World War II.

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Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is the Jewish observance of Yom Hoshoah, will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday at the center at 898 Weinberger Way off Furys Ferry Road in Evans.

Each year, the observance differs, said Leah Ronen, the executive director of the center and of the Augusta Jewish Federation.

"This year we have a survivor (Judith Evans) who was a child during the Nazi regime, and she will be speaking on the importance of identity," Ronen said.

The program also includes William Dyches, a member of the 405th Infantry of the U.S. 102nd Infantry Division, which arrived at Camp Gardelegen immediately after the Nazis murdered 1,016 Jewish and political prisoners, Ronen said. Dyches, who is not Jewish, will speak and share photos during the observance.

"He called us and asked if he could participate," Ronen said. "We were so grateful. In this age of Holocaust denial, it is so important that we have survivors and that we have non-Jews who were witnesses."

Ronen said each year, six candles are lit in memory of the 6 million people who died during the Holocaust. This year, the cast of Harlem High School's I Can Cry, a play about a Jewish woman's struggles through the Holocaust, will light the candles.

The program is free and open to the public. Those who attend the observance traditionally wear a white shirt or blouse, Ronen said. For more information, call the Augusta Jewish Community Center at (706) 228-3636.