A program presented by Am Yisrael Chai in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day

This event is free to attend and open to the public. 

Keynote speakers:

Leo Melamed, one of the Sugihara Survivors and Chihiro Sugihara, grandson of Chiune Sugihara

  • Chihiro Sugihara, Chiune Sugihara's grandson and Chairperson of the Visas for Life non-profit organization, has dedicated his life to the legacy of his grandfather. Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese imperial Consul-General to Lithuania, saved Jews by issuing temporary transit visas for them to escape Europe. The Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo denied Sugihara permission to issue these life-saving visas. Sugihara and his wife, Yukiko, saved over 6000 Jews. These survivors became known as “Sugihara Survivors”. In 1985, more than 50 years later, and one year before his death, Yad Vashem in Israel named Sugihara “Righteous Among the Nations,” a title given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. 
     
  • Leo Melamed was born in Bialystok, Poland on March 20, 1932. On September 1, 1939, Germany declared war on Poland. Leo and his family narrowly escaped on the last train out of Bialystok for Vilnius, Lithuania. There, they received one of Sugihara’s visas. They traveled the  to Japan via the Trans-Siberian Railroad. In 1941, they immigrated to the U.S. where they settled in Chicago.

Program:

  • 6:00pm – Opening Exhibit
  • 7:00pm – Conscience and Action Event
  • 8:45pm – Book Signing

This event is free and open to the public. Sponsorships and donations appreciated and can be made by visiting us atwww.amyisraelchaiatlanta.org.