City of Alexandria Hosts 31st Annual Days of Remembrance Ceremony for Victims of Holocaust

The City of Alexandria will observe the Days of Remembrance (Yom HaShoah) for the victims of the Holocaust at noon on Thursday, April 12, in Market Square (301 King St.). Alexandria City Council hosts the annual ceremony in commemoration of the national Days of Remembrance, April 8 through April 15. This is the 31st consecutive year the City has held the Days of Remembrance ceremony. The event is free and open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Vola Lawson Lobby on the first floor of City Hall (301 King St.).

The speaker this year will be Irene Weiss, a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Ms. Weiss is a volunteer at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and a frequent speaker about her experiences.

During the ceremony, Mayor Allison Silberberg and members of City Council will light a candelabrum that the late Holocaust survivor Charlene Schiff and her husband, Ed, donated to the City. The 54-inch high, solid brass fixture was donated in memory of Charlene Schiff’s parents and sister, and the six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust. The Schiff candelabrum is also made available to schools and civic groups studying the Holocaust.

For more information on Alexandria’s Days of Remembrance ceremony, call the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703.746.4343.

For media inquiries, contact Andrea Blackford, Senior Communications Officer, at [email protected] or 703.746.3959.