HomeMy WebLinkAboutDays of Remembrance 2014
City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424
Contact: Frank Petrovic
Communications & Technology Services Department
Phone 952-816-0359 • Fax 952-826-0389 • www.EdinaMN.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Edina Honors Days of Remembrance and Victims of Genocides
Edina, Minn., Feb. 21, 2014 – In April, the Edina Human Rights & Relations Commission and World
Without Genocide will host a series of events to remember victims and honor the survivors, rescuers and
liberators of the Holocaust and other genocides. The events are free and open to the public.
In 2007, Edina became the third city in the country to pass anti-genocide legislation. In 2012, Edina supported
a resolution against using “conflict minerals” from Congo.
This past spring, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill into law that designates every April to be Genocide
Awareness and Prevention Month in Minnesota. The bill encourages organizations to sponsor events that
educate the public and to remember those whose lives and cultures have been forever changed.
In 2012, the Edina City Council and Mayor Jim Hovland approved a proclamation indicating the City of Edina
would acknowledge the National Days of Remembrance annually in memory of victims of the Holocaust and
encourage the community to reflect on the need for respect for all people. During the month of April, the
City of Edina will present videos on Edina Channel 16 highlighting the stories of Minnesota residents who have
survived the Holocaust and the impact on their families and communities around them.
Days of Remembrance – 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at the Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview
Square. The program includes the reader’s theater play “Upstanders: Ten Who Dared,” an interactive play
about the difference between being an “upstander” and a “bystander;” a performance of resistance music
from the Holocaust; and the story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, a youth resistance movement in Nazi
Germany.
Genocide Awareness – The 20th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide – 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday,
April 10, at Edina City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St. Ellen Kennedy, Executive Director of World Without Genocide
and Edina resident, will speak about the situation in Rwanda today, as well as the crisis in Congo, where six
million people have perished since 1996. She will highlight Minnesota initiatives aimed at reducing the violence.
Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Remembrance – 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 13, at Edina City Hall, 4801 W. 50th
St. Fred Amram, Holocaust survivor and retired University of Minnesota professor, will speak about his
experiences during the Holocaust as well as the courage needed to take a stand and become an “upstander”
instead of a bystander. This event will also include Holocaust displays and photos and participation in an
ongoing art project.
For more information, contact City Manager Intern Annie Coyle at 952-826-0429 or acoyle@EdinaMN.gov.
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