On Monday, May 9, the thirty-second annual Civic Commemoration of the Holocaust was held in the Governor’s Reception Room at the State Capitol.
Speakers included Rabbi Eric Cytryn of Beth El Temple in Harrisburg, Governor Tom Wolf and Reverend Bill Harter of the Presbyterian Church of Falling Spring in Chambersburg. Governor Wolf spoke about the importance of educating every generation about the horrors of the Holocaust and of guarding against evil today.
Holocaust survivors and their families were in attendance, lighting six candles in remembrance of the Shoah. Several elected officials participated in the program as well, which was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition.
At the close of the commemoration, the attendees sang “Zog Nit Keynmol,” a Yiddish song inspired by the Warsaw ghetto uprising. The translated lyrics include:
“Never say this is the final road for you,
Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue.
As the hour that we longed for is so near,
Our step beats out the message: we are here!”
