The City of Alexandria observed its 36th annual Days of Remembrance ceremony on Thursday (April 24) to commemorate victims of the Holocaust at Market Square in front of City Hall.
The ceremony featured a candle lighting, prayers, and reflections on the importance of remembrance and action against hatred.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins welcomed attendees to the ceremony, noting Alexandria’s distinction as the first municipality in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region to formally observe Holocaust remembrance.
“Remembrance is important,” Gaskins said. “It not only obligates us to memorialize those who were killed during the Holocaust, it also reminds us of the fragility of democracy and the need for each of us to be vigilant in the protection of democratic ideals.”
During the ceremony, special guests lit a solid brass candelabrum donated by the late Holocaust survivor, Charlene Schiff, and her husband, Ed. The 54-inch high candelabrum was donated in memory of Schiff’s parents and sister, along with the six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust.
The ceremony coincided with the nation’s annual commemoration of Holocaust victims, which runs from April 20 through April 28, 2025, including Yom HaShoah on April 24.
Mayor Gaskins presented a proclamation to Nancy Siegal, chair of the Days of Remembrance Planning Committee, recognizing the committee’s work in organizing the event and promoting education throughout the community.
The proclamation stated that “the history of the Holocaust offers an opportunity to reflect on the moral responsibilities of individuals, societies and governments” and calls on Alexandria residents to “actively rededicate ourselves to the principles of individual freedom in a just society.”
Reverend Dr. David Glade of Christ the King Anglican Church shared a personal story of interfaith cooperation, recounting how Agudas Achim Synagogue hosted his congregation for Christmas Eve services after their church suffered an electrical fire.
“It’s important for us to remember that just the same way it’s important for us to remember the acts of cruelty with great sadness,” Glade said. “When a people begins to lose its memory, it loses a little bit of itself.”
Rabbi Steven Rein of Agudas Achim Congregation spoke about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which began on Passover in 1943, drawing parallels between the Passover story of liberation and the choices made during the Holocaust.
“Even in the embittered darkness of slavery, even under the thumb of Pharaoh’s oppression, the power to choose exists,” Rabbi Rein said. “Each one made a choice. Each one affirmed the power of human agency.”
Rabbi David Spinrad of Beth El Hebrew Congregation shared the story of Hugo Grin, who witnessed his father create a makeshift Hanukkah menorah in a concentration camp using margarine from their meager rations and threads from prison uniforms.
“My son, we must light precisely because it’s dark,” Spinrad quoted the father saying. “Remember, we once lived for seven days without any water, without any food. But a human soul cannot live for even one day without hope.”
The ceremony’s keynote speaker, Richard Breitman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at American University, discussed the importance of accurate historical understanding of the Holocaust.
Breitman, who taught modern German history and Holocaust studies for 39 years, cautioned against drawing distorted lessons from the Holocaust by contradicting known evidence or cherry-picking facts to support predetermined conclusions.
“Both of these methods produce bad history and bad applications of history,” Breitman said. “One of the virtues of studying history in some detail is that it helps to immunize us against bad lessons.”
Cantor Jason Kaufman of Beth El Hebrew Congregation led attendees in a memorial prayer before Mayor Gaskins offered closing reflections.
Gaskins connected the Holocaust remembrance ceremony to another recent commemoration in Alexandria for Joseph McCoy, a young Black Alexandrian who was lynched in the city 128 years ago.
“Coming together for remembrance and coming together for ceremonies like this, it’s not meant to be a passive gathering,” Gaskins said. “It is instead meant to be an act of resistance and more of a call to action, a reminder to each of us that we have work to do.”
The Days of Remembrance Planning Committee included Gal Adam Spinrad, Yonie Dow, Rachel Goldberg, Robbie Schaefer, Steve Sternberg, and Danielle Topp, with Nancy Segal serving as chair and Joyce Gordon as chair emeritus.
The ceremony included musical performances by Hazzan Elisheva Dienstfrey of Agudas Achim Congregation, Cantor Jason Kaufman of Beth El Hebrew Congregation, and Leo Dienstfrey.
The Schiff candelabrum is made available throughout the year to schools and civic groups studying the Holocaust, continuing the city’s commitment to education and remembrance.
