At this historic time for reflection and action – more than 1,300 people from across the Western Region community registered to support the efforts of the D.C.-based United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and to come together virtually on Thursday, March 11, 2021.
Participating in the Museum’s ‘2021 Western Region Virtual Event’ was Golden Globe nominated actress Emmy Rossum, emcee of the virtual event, and Holocaust survivor, acclaimed author, and humanitarian Gerda Weissmann Klein, special guest.
Also participating in the online program was former white supremacist Derek Black who talked about experiences that led him to renounce the white nationalist movement.
Performing the “Tarantella” movement of the Five Pieces For String Quartet by composer Erwin Schulhoff, were Conservatory students from the Colburn School in Los Angeles from left to right Gallia Kastner, violin; Adam Millstein, violin; Ben Solomonow, cello; and Cara Pogossian, viola. Jewish music was banned during the 12 years of the Nazi regime and a newspaper-clipping photo overlay on the video shows the headline, “Nazis Ban Jewish Music” while the students performed the historic piece. Schulhoff was deported to the internment camp in Wülzburg, where he died in 1942.
The annual “What You Do Matters” Western Region Dinner normally held in Los Angeles and historically attracts up to 1,000 guests in-person, including many Holocaust survivors, this year featured the theme of “Survival, Hope and Resilience” with special guests; compelling Holocaust testimonies from survivors and liberators told by celebrities Morgan Freeman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Camryn Manheim and Tim Matheson, among others; inspiring specialty music; and important messages about the Museum’s role in these challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed much of how the USHMM does its work, but not why it’s done. Suzi and Eric LeVine, from Seattle, represented the Western Region Event Leadership Committee and joined Museum supporters from the ten western states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washingtonto renew its pledge to ensure that the critical lessons of the Holocaust – lessons about the fragility of societies, the nature of hate, and the consequences of indifference – help shape our nation’s way forward.
A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity.
