Candles Burned In Chicago A History Of 53 Memorial Commemorations Of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

This book tells the amazing story of 54 years of effort by a group of Jewish Chicagoans to commemorate the murder of 350,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. In 1944, when these Chicagoans learned of the murder and of the heroic resistance by the last Warsaw Ghetto residents, they determined that the events must be made known to all America so that they might never be forgotten. Except for the fact of past emigration from Europe, these Chicagoans would have been part of the resistance bands. But for their presence in America, they would have lost their lives in the Warsaw slaughter. They determined that they must do all within their power to mobilize the world to prevent a recurrence. So, for 54 years, they undertook to publicize the Warsaw events dramatically and to point out to society the lesson of the events, namely, that humanity must work unceasingly for a just world in which evil cannot triumph as it did. From 1944 to 1996, this group of Jewish Chicagoans and their friends mounted stirring national meetings, candlelight commemorations, dramatic presentations, and gifted discussions so that the heroism of the Warsaw Ghetto fighters and the tragedy of the victims might never be forgotten. This book tells the story of the annual meetings and their organization. The reader can only be deeply impressed that the thrust of these was not merely to rehearse the past lest it be forgotten, but also to look to the future. For 54 years, speakers at the Commemorations stressed the need for present and future action to build a society in which a Warsaw Ghetto slaughter could not take place. The major Commemoration, year after year required cooperation and organization, which were not always easy toachieve. Since the effort was open to everyone to support and participate, it attracted also its share of radicals and dissenters. If such individuals were also among the residents of the Warsaw Ghetto, why not in Chicago? Creative differences of opinion had to be ironedMidwest Jewish Council Staff is the author of 'Candles Burned In Chicago A History Of 53 Memorial Commemorations Of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising', published 2004 under ISBN 9781418486327 and ISBN 1418486329.