DATE: April 18, 2018 1:04:06 PM GMT-0400

Advisory: Media invited to Post Holocaust Remembrance Observance

FORT LEE, Va. – Media are invited to the Holocaust Remembrance Day with an observance April 19, 11:30 a.m., at the Lee Theater. Admission to the event is free and open to the public.

WHAT: Holocaust Remembrance Observance

WHEN:   11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Thursday, April 19

WHERE:  Lee Theater, Fort Lee

The event supports an annual eight-day period called the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, which was designated by Congress to help citizens commemorate and draw lessons from the tragic chapter of World War II-era history.

Samuel H. Asher, executive director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Richmond, will be the featured speaker.

Prior to joining the museum staff earlier this year, Asher served as CEO of the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond since 2010. The annual campaign has increased significantly under his watch. Young leadership programming was re-energized and overseas missions increased dramatically.

Master Sgt. Pamela Whitlock, Fort Lee’s senior equal opportunity advisor, said she’s excited to have a guest speaker from the local area.

“Fort Lee continuously tries to support the community and vice versa,” she said. “It is always an honor to have distinguished individuals from the local area speak during observances or at any special event. We all should remember the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. We all should get educated on what happened during this time.”

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Congress unanimously passed legislation in 1980 to establish the Holocaust Memorial Council, which oversees the museum. It succeeded the President’s Commission on the Holocaust and was charged with carrying out the following recommendations:

  • That a national day of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust be established in perpetuity and be held annually.
  • That a living memorial be established to honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust will be taught in perpetuity.
  • That an educational foundation be established to stimulate and support research in the teaching of the Holocaust.

For information on the Holocaust, visit www.ushmm.org or www.vaholocaust.org.

Media planning to attend must contact Susan Garling at 804-734-6893 or susan.n.garling.civ@mail.mil by 10:30 a.m., Thursday to coordinate an escort.

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Fort Lee is the Army’s Home of Sustainment and supports the training, education and development of adaptive Army logistics professionals. Major organizations on the installation include the Defense Commissary Agency, Defense Contract Management Agency, Combined Arms Support Command, the Army Logistics University, U.S. Army Ordnance School, U.S. Army Quartermaster School and U.S. Army Transportation School. Fort Lee supports nearly 86,000 Soldiers, retirees, veterans, family members and civilian employees and boasts an economic impact of about $2.4 billion per year.