Holocaust Memorial Dedication

B'nai Israel celebrates Jim Fried, whose design for the beautiful bronze plaque and eternal light was inspired by the memory of his parents, survivors of the Shoah; and welcomes Christine Erlander Beard, internationally renowned flutist, soloist, chamber artist, and teacher to help dedicate our Holocaust Memorial and present "The Role of Music During the Holocaust".

This deeply moving and powerful lecture-recital delves into the extraordinary and often haunting role of music during the Holocaust, examining repertoire banned by the SS Kultur Kammer and what type of music was performed in the camps and ghettos. Through the heartbreaking stories of Jewish composers whose lives were extinguished by the Nazi regime, Dr. Beard exposes how the Nazis twisted music into a weapon of psychological cruelty, even as prisoners reclaimed it as a lifeline. In the darkest of circumstances, music became a fragile sanctuary: an act of courage, identity, and resistance against a…