Eliezer Ayalon is the only member of his family to have survived the Holocaust. Because he had a work permit when the Nazis liquidated the Radom, Poland, ghetto in 1942, he was not sent to die in Treblinka with his family.
Instead, Ayalon survived five different concentration camps in Poland and Austria before his last camp was liberated in 1945. Ayalon, who is now a guide at Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and whose experiences are told in "A Cup of Honey: The Story of a Young Holocaust Survivor," will be the keynote speaker at this year's Yom HaShoah remembrance program.
FOCUS
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be 2 p.m. Sunday in the Tolbert Theater at Stage Center. Ruth Charnay, who along with her husband Richard, is directing the program, said the memorial program is different every year, and this year's focus will be on survivors.
"Every year the program focuses on why it's important to remember the Holocaust," Charnay said. "We provide an educational program as well as a time to remember the dead, the survivors and the liberators."
GUESTS
The remembrance takes the form of candle lighting as well as dramatic readings from community leaders. This year's lineup includes:
" Kirk Humphreys,
" Susan Savage,
" Kevin Ogle and
" Pat Fennell.
Ayalon will be signing copies of his book at Full Circle Bookstore immediately after the program. "Greg Horton
