by Nancy James
The Concord-Carlisle Human Right’s Council (CCHRC) and the Town of Concord offered the annual Holocaust Remembrance on Sunday, May 1, 2016. This important and solemn program is our annual promise to never forget. As the program planners, the CCHRC remains grateful that Concord commemorates and remembers every year.
This year’s speaker was Helen Epstein, who became an instant published journalist in August of 1968 while a 20-year-old college student caught in the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia. Daughter of Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen survivors, and frequent guest lecturer, Epstein’s delivery was both moving and beautifully delivered. A veteran journalist, Epstein is the author of six books of literary non-fiction, and editor and translator of four others, all Holocaust related. “Children of the Holocaust” is one of her ground-breaking works examining inter-generational transmission of trauma.
Rabbi Darby Leigh and Cantor Rosalie Gerut from Congregation Kerem Shalom offered memorial prayers and music. Select Board member, Alice Kaufman, represented the Town of Concord with welcoming remarks and Rob Morrison, CCHRC co-chair, spoke to the important mission of the Council.