Holocaust observance scheduled for April 15

In accordance with state legislation, the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, in coordination with the Henry Ricklis Holocaust Memorial Committee and the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, will hold a Yom HaShoah (Holocaust) Commemoration Program at 1:30 p.m. on April 15 at Monroe Township High School, Perrineville Road.

Keynote speaker will be Helen Rosenzweig, a holocaust survivor and Monroe resident. Rosenzweig, who at the age of 14 was forced to serve as a housemaid for the infamous camp commandant Amon Goeth, will speak about Goeth and relate how she met Oskar Schindler in Goeth's villa and how Schindler saved her life.

Gov. Jon Corzine and Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci will present proclamations designating April as Holocaust Remembrance Month. Members of the Temple Beth Shalom Choir, Manalapan, will sing two commemorative pieces. Philip Kirschner, chairman of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, will serve as master of ceremonies.

The program will open with "Cadence," a new, original dramatic work, followed by a menorah-lighting ceremony. Author and survivor Judith Sherman will read an original poem, and survivor Carl Lustbader will pay tribute to the lost six million by singing "The Partisan Song."

Memorial candles may be kindled from 1-1:30 p.m.

Admission is free of charge. The public is invited to attend.

For more information, call Dr. Paul B. Winkler at (609) 292-9274, e-mail holocaust@doe.state.nj.us; or call Nina Wolff at (732) 605-7811, e-mail nwolff0325@aol.com.