YomHashoah Program at Faneuil Hall

Recently, I witnessed a great event. It was the dedication of the Liberator’s Monument at the New England Holocaust Museum, a monument dedicated to the soldiers of World War II who liberated the concentration camps and showed compassion for the prisoners who were close to perishing, like so many others before them. Mr. Warren Priest, a World War II veteran and family friend, was one of the soldiers present at the liberation of German concentration camps, and the keynote speaker at the pre-commemoration service.

After some distinguished officials entered the building, a children’s choir from a nearby school began to sing traditional Jewish folk songs, which they would continue to do at various points throughout the service. After the choir was finished, a young Rabbi came up to the podium and read a rather long guest list before the audience rose for the singing of the “Star Spangled Banner” and “Hatikvah”, then were seated again for the candle lighting ceremony.

After a speech by the Consul General of Israel, Mr. Priest followed, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his speech was the best of all those spoken that day. He truly had the audience in the palm of his hand, and even though I had previously known much of the material used in his speech, I still wept throughout his entire presentation, as did others, it was so moving. Even though it was customary not to applaud at services like this, many applauded Mr. Priest after his speech, which didn’t seem very long, but in reality went on for 30 minutes!

After Mr. Priest, there was another great speaker, a holocaust survivor (who was my age at the time of the war) who told his story of escape and rescue from beginning to end. It was just as moving and engrossing as the one before it, and was also met with “uncustomary” but much deserved applause.

After that there was some more song and prayer, and then the hall began to empty out as people made their way towards the commemoration down the street at the Liberator’s Monument. Before I went out, though, I congratulated Mr. Priest, then made my way (along with my father and a few friends of ours) out of the building and over to the monument commemoration, which was already underway. After some other talk by various people, the monument, which was actually two large rectangles of stone with inscriptions on the side, was uncovered, and a flag was raised high in the air.

It was then that the founder of the New England Holocaust Memorial, Stephan Ross, another survivor, gave a heartfelt speech about his experience in the concentration camps, and then welcomed to the podium the G.I. who had been another one of the men to liberate the camps. This veteran was probably 85, but he was still sharp as a knife. After he’d spoken, there were some closing remarks by the young Rabbi from the earlier service, and then the ceremony was officially over. I then got to shake hands with all of these great people, and also got to hear what that G.I. had to say to a young reporter, which was really impressive.

Reflecting on this day, I realize just how important everything that took place was. It is crucial that we remember events such as the holocaust to ensure that they are not repeated. As that old G.I. said himself, “People have to be careful of who they elect to power. You don’t want some rabble-rouser getting in to office and riling everyone up. That’s what happened then, and that’s what’s happening now.” This truly had been an amazing day, and I’m so glad that I experienced and participated in it firsthand.

Michael Passarini