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Arts & Entertainment

SHIM's Holocaust Observance

On April 29, South Hills Interfaith Ministries will host its 33rd annual Holocaust Observance.  This annual event, one of the oldest in the region, commemorates the lives lost under the Nazi regime. 

This year’s event is “Sugihara: Circle of Courage.”  Chiune Sugihara was the vice-consul of the Japanese Consulate in Lithuania during World War II.  In 1940, Sugihara – along with a provocative cast of characters, including his wife, his German secretary, and a Dutch businessman – was able to move approximately 6,000 Jews out of Lithuania.  In doing so, he risked not only his career but also the lives of his family.  As many as 40,000 descendants of those Jewish refugees can trace their families’ survival to the actions of Sugihara and his Circle of Courage.

The observance will include: music provided by Paul Silver, violinist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Mt. Lebanon High School students; participation by a wide range of local clergy; and a candle-lighting ceremony by individuals who are Holocaust survivors or children of survivors.

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