KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Yom HaShoah is noticed each year on April 28 as Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is a time when Jewish people from all over the world stop to reflect on the experiences of their ancestors.
The Knoxville Jewish Alliance waited until Sunday, May 1 to hold a remembrance ceremony. Dozens came out to listen and reflect.
Yellow candles lit the room. Their light represents the Star of David, which symbolizes Jewish identities.
"It's to keep alive the memories of those Tennesseans who died. To keep alive the memories of that Tennessee uns who were survivors of the Holocaust," said Larry Leibowitz with the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.
Leibowitz works to preserve the stories of Tennesseans who lived through the Holocaust. It's a tragedy this community never wants to forget.
"Forgive but never forget," said Bryan Goldberg, the president of the Knoxville Jewish Alliance.
Goldberg said a big part of what they do is promote education around the events of the Holocaust, in hopes of preventing another mass genocide.
"Part of never forgetting is retelling the story, the story of survivors, the story of liberators," Goldberg said. "It's important so that nothing like this should ever happen again to anybody anywhere."
After the ceremony, attendees found a gallery full of Holocaust survivors that live in Tennessee.
"The significance of it is that we all remember the victims of Nazi brutality," Leibowitz said.
Dozens of local stories lined the halls. But, Leibowitz said there's even more where this came from.
"That's a small subset of the entire exhibit, the entire exhibit is probably 70 or 80 stories, pictures, and, such," Leibowitz said.
You can find the full collection on the Tennessee Holocaust Commission website.