David Eisenhower, Historian and Grandson of President Dwight Eisenhower, Will Deliver Keynote

(BOSTON) – To honor local survivors of the Holocaust and to pay tribute to those who perished, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) and its partners will present LIBERATION: FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, a community commemoration of Yom HaShoah, on Sunday, April 12th, 10:30 A.M. at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

This year’s event marks the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the New England Holocaust Memorial and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps.

The keynote speaker, David Eisenhower, is a noted historian and the Director of the Institute for Public Service at the Annenberg Public Policy Center. He is the grandson of U.S. General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“David Eisenhower is not only a renowned scholar of the historical era encompassing the liberation, but is also a direct descendant of a person whose life and legacy is so interwoven with the fate of the Jewish people,” said Rick Mann, Co-Chair of this year’s event . “His appearance is a gift of immeasurable value to our entire community and particularly to the aging survivors who will be in attendance.”

Max Michelson, a native of Riga, Latvia, will speak during the ceremony of his personal story of survival during the Holocaust. He went through a number of concentration camps and was liberated in Germany in May, 1945. Mr. Michelson is also the author of City of Life, City of Death, Memories of Riga.

LIBERATION: FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT is presented in partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Facing History and Ourselves, and Jewish Family & Children’s Services.