Moment of Witness: An Interfaith Commemoration for Holocaust Remembrance

As the fragile window of personal witness to the events of the Holocaust closes, Moment of Witness provides the script for a powerful commemoration with a focus on real people, the lives they lived, and the communities they called home. It provides a deeply thoughtful way for groups of any background to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27) and Yom HaShoah (typically in April or May) and immerse participants in a strong and emotionally resonant program.

Despite our earnest effort, there is still evil in the world. People are still persecuted for who they are. Anger and hatred, nurtured by prejudice, continue to take root in our communities. We proclaim: There is still hope. We each can make a difference. --From Moment of Witness

Filled with story and remembrance, Moment of Witness guides participants from any background through a 45-minute experience to help fulfill the responsibility that Holocaust survivors have entrusted to all of us: to remember, to tell the story, and to act.

Designed to be used in a group setting (from teens on up), including schools, churches and synagogues, families, or with any intergenerational or interfaith community, Moment of Witness includes first-person accounts of daily life before, during, and after the Holocaust; questions designed for personal reflection or group discussion; and a guide for leaders to plan and direct the experience.

A poignant and ultimately hopeful ritual. --Lindsay Friedman, director of Echoes & Reflections, a Holocaust education program of ADL, USC Shoah Foundation, and Yad Vasem