SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2025, AT 5:00 PM, SYMPHONY HALL
75 N 2ND ST, PHOENIX, AZ 85004
WEBSITE: HTTPS://PHXHA.COM/REMEMBER/
(SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – April 10, 2025)
In partnership with The Phoenix Symphony, the Phoenix Holocaust Association (PHA) will host its annual community-wide Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Commemoration at Symphony Hall on Sunday, April 27, 2025. The commemoration begins at 5:00 pm. A special commemoration is planned this year in honor of the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII and liberation.
We are very fortunate to have 93-year-old Hanna Miley, Holocaust survivor, share her message of remembrance and loving humankind as a keynote speaker during our commemoration. Through rescue, loss, and eventual freedom — author, teacher, and speaker Hanna Zack Miley stands as a warm reminder of the power of forgiveness. In 1932, just 11 months before Hitler seized power — Hanna was born in the German city of Bonn. As antisemitism increased, her Jewish parents, Marcus and Amalie Zack, desperately sought ways of escape. On the evening of July 24, 1939, they were able to get Hanna onto a train to escape Germany. Torn from her home, alone, and unsure of where she was headed, Hanna left on a transport bound for England at just 7-years old. She would come to learn that she was part of an epic rescue effort called the “Kindertransport” that would save nearly 10,000 Jewish children from Hitler’s Nazi regime. Her parents, however, would not make it to safety. Her parents were forced from their home and deported to endure six months of inhumane conditions in the Łódź Ghetto before being murdered in the death camp in Chelmno, Poland, on May 3, 1942.
Hanna has since discovered newfound freedom and joy in sharing her story around the world and through her writing and speaking. She and her husband George have been worldwide travelers for more than 50 years, teaching others about the transforming power of forgiveness even in the most painful circumstances. Today, they reside in Phoenix, Arizona.
A documentary about Hanna’s life is under development. More information about Hanna can be found HERE.
Along with Hanna’s inspiring message, other highlights from the event will include:
-A procession of Holocaust survivors. We currently have some 60 Holocaust survivors living in the Valley, with many participating in the commemoration.
-A candle-lighting ceremony to remember the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of the Nazis and their collaborators.
-The Phoenix Symphony has selected the string trio by Gideon Klein, a Holocaust victim, to be played during the survivor processional. This haunting work was composed just days before Mr. Klein’s transport from Terezín to Auschwitz, where he was murdered.
-The PHA’s Annual Shofar Zachor Educator Award for outstanding contributions to Holocaust and genocide education will be awarded to Heather Roehl, Social Studies Teacher, Ridgeview College Preparatory and Sheryl Bronkesh, past president of PHA who helped lead the effort to pass legislation mandating Holocaust and genocide education in Arizona.
Phoenix Holocaust Association has received tremendous support for this event from Arizona state leaders as well as key faith leaders across different denominations. We are honored to announce that Governor Katie Hobbs, Mayor Kate Gallego, and other state dignitaries have confirmed their participation in the event. Rev. Katie Sexton-Wood, executive director of AZ Faith Network and the Most Reverend Eduardo Nevares, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, will also be in attendance.
The commemoration is free and open to all denominations. Enhanced security will be in place. Registration for the event is required and can be found at www.phxha.remember/
SPECIAL EVENT:
Before the Commemoration, the Phoenix Symphony will perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis at 2:00 pm which will be followed by the Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Commemoration starting at 5:00 pm. The public can purchase tickets for the concert at phoenixsymphony.org . Those registered to attend the Commemoration can receive 20% OFF concert tickets. For details, please go to www.phxha.remember/ Concert ticket purchase is not required to attend the free commemoration.
Phoenix Holocaust Association is an organization devoted to partnering with Holocaust survivors, their descendants, and the larger community. The mission of the organization is to honor the memory and legacy of the survivors and victims, promote awareness of the Holocaust, provide education of this and other genocides, and contribute to tikkun olam, the repair of the world.
The 2025 Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration is supported by a grant from Arizona Humanities and National Endowment for the Humanities.
