RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Team Randolph will again set aside a week this year to remember the victims of a heinous crime that took millions of lives.
Holocaust Days of Remembrance 2009, a time to memorialize the estimated 6 million European Jews who were systematically murdered at the hands of the Nazi regime in Germany during World War II, will feature static display posters at sites on base throughout next week, an observance ceremony Tuesday, a 5-kilometer run/walk Wednesday and several events at the youth center Wednesday and Thursday.
"The main goal is to raise awareness of the Holocaust so that people know the importance of standing up against something like that and preventing it in the future," said Capt. Jennifer McGee, project officer for the event.
The Remembrance Day Observance Ceremony Tuesday from 2-3 p.m. at Chapel 1 is the cornerstone of the weeklong event. It will feature Holocaust survivor Rose Williams.
The ceremony will also include a candle-lighting ritual, which is rooted in Jewish tradition and based on Proverbs 20:27: "The spirit of God is the lamp of the Lord." In this ritual, 11 candles will be lighted - the first six representing the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust, the seventh to remember those who stood up against the Nazis but paid the ultimate price for their resistance, the eighth to remember the religious leaders who were not afraid to speak out, the ninth to remember the non-Jews who were killed by Nazi decree, the 10th to remember all who suffered and were killed because of their differences and the 11th to represent this extreme loss to the world.
The run/walk takes place Wednesday at 7 a.m. at the Rambler Fitness Center. The jogging path will serve as the course for the event.
Several activities are scheduled at the Youth Center. A class Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. will teach 9- to 12-year-old participants how to cook a traditional Jewish dessert. Several readings on the Holocaust - Wednesday at 4 p.m. for kindergarten students through third-graders and Thursday at 4 p.m. for kindergarten students through third-graders and for fourth- through sixth-graders - are also planned.
Posters showing the 2009 theme of "Never Again: What You Do Matters" will be displayed throughout the week at the base library, the main exchange, the fitness center and the commissary.
Captain McGee said the Holocaust Memorial of San Antonio at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community provided assistance and materials for Holocaust Days of Remembrance 2009.