Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth, in conjunction with the Suffolk YJCC, hosted the Town of Huntington’s 13th Annual Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony. The event took place on Friday, July 19 at Arboretum Park in Melville, home of the Anne Frank Memorial Garden.
The event was held mid-way between Anne Frank’s June 12th birthday and the August 4th date of her capture. Frank would have been 94 this year.
This year’s event featured Holocaust Survivor Rosalie Simon, and students, Alexa Nissenbaum and Chloe Swarz, who participated in Suffolk Y JCC’s Names, Not Numbers program. Students shared their reflections of their interviews with Holocaust survivors to maintain the history and stories of the Holocaust.
The ceremony also featured special musical guest, South African-born guitarist, and composer Toby Tobias. Tobias shared his stories of hope through music, during a time of war and upheaval across three continents, from Johannesburg to Jerusalem - then here in the United States.
“Every year, we strive to make this event memorable and thought provoking. This year is no different. What happened to Anne Frank, her family, and all victims and survivors of the Holocaust could have happened to anyone, at any point in time. Abroad today, in places like Ukraine. At home, with targeted attacks against different groups and the population at large. We must counter the voices that seek to divide us. We can teach love, acceptance, and unity. We can and should resolve ignorance with education.”
The Suffolk YJCC has been strengthening and enriching the Suffolk County community through social, recreational, and educational programs for the past 40 years through a Jewish caring model. Suffolk YJCC
participates in the national Holocaust awareness initiative, Names, Not Numbers, a unique program where students learn to combine research, journalism, and video production to capture and share the stories of Holocaust survivors so that they are never forgotten.
The Anne Frank Memorial Garden, was unveiled by the Town in June 2010 at Arboretum Park. The park symbolically captures the journey of Anne Frank’s life. It features a circular pathway that surrounds a garden, which leads to the sculpture of a young girl’s dress. The Memorial Garden serves as tribute to Anne’s legacy of wisdom and genuine belief in the goodness of mankind and human nature, despite the ugliness of war and discrimination.