BALTIMORE — 96-year-old Irma Pretsfelder will never forget her family members killed in concentration camps during the Holocaust.
But today, she spends extra time remembering them.
She was among the survivors at the Baltimore Community Commemoration of the Holocaust, known as Yom Hashoah.
The Baltimore Jewish Council held the event at Bethel El Congregation in Park Heights Sunday afternoon.
"Abolish the hate and concentrate on the love and the kindness for people; be good to each other; and consider that everybody has something to give in this world, something good, and look for it and accept it," said Pretsfelder.
The event aimed to recognize survivors, honor victims, and educate young people and adults about the horrors that can stem from hate, as we see a rise in anti-Semitic incidents.
"Teaching our young people or adults about what happened, how that small surge in hate led to the horrific events led to the Holocaust, we have to keep teaching it, we have to keep educating about it," said Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council.
This year's commemoration also highlighted the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that took place 80 years ago and the special role women played, with a keynote address from author and historian Judy Batalion.
