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Thursday is Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, and people around the world are paying their respects to the millions of lives lost, including in St. Petersburg.
A small group of people sat in silence and paid their respects at the James Museum as the names of Holocaust victims were read aloud.
Maxine Kaufman says she felt contemplative after leaving the theater.
“You have to learn, you have to learn about the mistakes, and what has happened in history so that we don’t repeat it over and over again,” Kaufman said.
Kicking off with St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch, city and community leaders joined other volunteers who took turns in a continuous in-person reading that lasted from 10 to 5.
Michael Igel is the interim CEO of the Florida Holocaust Museum and a grandchild of Holocaust survivors.
He says the event is about resilience and perseverance.
“We’ve been doing this for the past several, several years, and it’s continued to sort of grow in its prominence, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of that because, you know, you feel like the victims are looking down on you and saying ‘Thank you. I existed. I mattered.,” Igel told WMNF.
The event has been going on for several years, and says he hopes to carry out the legacy of survivors and victims.
“When you hear these stories and when you think of these people, and you give them the dignity of, at a minimum, the dignity of reading their names, that they existed. It instills in you the power to want to take action in their name,” Igel said.
The event was hosted at the James Museum while the Florida Holocaust Museum is under construction.
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