Muncipal Ceremony at Earl Bales Park
The Community Holocaust Commemoration at Earl Bales Park
The Community Holocaust Commemoration at Earl Bales Park is an annual event planned jointly by the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto. The event, on the eve of Yom Hashoah, is held at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Wall of Remembrance at Earl Bales Park, Toronto.
As the flame of the towering monument rises in a plume of orange and black, more than 2000 people from the Toronto community gather together to remember those who perished and those who survived modern history’s darkest epoch- the Holocaust.
On Sunday, May 1, 2011, on the eve of Yom Hashoah, Consul General to Toronto Amir R. Gissin addressed the audience and stated how proud he was that Toronto and the State of Israel had forged close ties, acknowledging Toronto’s leaders and politicians who were present to pay their respects.
Emphasizing the generational impact of the Holocaust, Faye Shulman, a Holocaust Survivor and partisan; Howard Sokolowski, a benefactor, board member of the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem, and second generation of survivors; and Samuel Buckstein, a young man who represented the third generation, all spoke powerfully to the assembled.
Faye Shulman recounted with great emotion how she saved many people as a partisan, but yet was unsuccessful at saving her own family; Mr. Sokolowski spoke about how proud he was of his parents and the legacy that they and other survivors have left, and Mr. Buckstein painted a vivid picture of the devastation of the war’s aftermath and the lessons to be learned from it.
Trustees and supporters of the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem Howard and Carole Tanenbaum and William and Linda Hechter lit two of the six candles on the Yad Vashem menorah in memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Shoah and in honour of the Righteous Among the Nations respectively.
Following the Community Holocaust Commemoration, a separate ceremony arranged by the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem commenced at the Wall of Remembrance, as families came together to witness the unveiling of the engraved names of their loved ones and to light Yurtzeit (memorial) candles in a final and sombre tribute.
To arrange to have your loved ones’ names engraved on the Holocaust Wall of Remembrance at Earl Bales Park, you may call, fax or mail an Inscription Form to the attention of Miriam Perl at:
| Phone: | 416.785.1333 |
| Fax: | 416.785.4356 |
| Mail: | Canadian Society for Yad Vashem |
