City of Alexandria Observes 36th Annual Days of Remembrance for Victims of Holocaust

Page updated on February 11, 2025 at 9:54 AM
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36th Annual Days of Remembrance Ceremony

The City of Alexandria will observe the Days of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 12 p.m. noon in Market Square, 301 King St.  

The City of Alexandria hosts the annual ceremony as part of the weeklong commemoration of the national Days of Remembrance, observed from April 20 through April 27.   

This is the 36th year the City has held the Days of Remembrance ceremony. The event is free and open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the City Council Chamber, located on the second floor of City Hall, 301 King St.   

The guest speaker will be Richard Breitman, distinguished professor, writer, and a leading historian on the Holocaust. Breitman is the author or co-author of fourteen books, including The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution and FDR and the Jews, which won the 2013 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies. He also served as editor of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies journal for 25 years and has conducted extensive research on classified World War II documents. 

During the ceremony, Mayor Alyia Gaskins and members of City Council will light a candelabrum that the late Holocaust survivor Charlene Schiff and her husband, Ed, donated to the City.  

The 54-inch high, solid brass candelabrum was donated in memory of Charlene Schiff’s parents and sister, and the six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust. The Schiff candelabrum is also made available to schools and civic groups studying the Holocaust. 

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum leads the nation in the weeklong Days of Remembrance commemoration, in accordance with Congressional mandate. 

For additional information on Alexandria’s Days of Remembrance ceremony, call the Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities at 703.746.5565. 

If you prefer communication in another language, free interpretation and translation services are available to you. Please email LanguageAccess@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.3960. 

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact CherylAnne.Colton@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.5565, Virginia Relay 711.