The Chicago area’s 71st annual collective Holocaust memorial observance will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 8, at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue, 8825 East Prairie Road, in Skokie.

The event, traditionally the largest gathering of Holocaust survivors in the Midwest and one of the largest in the United States, has been organized each year since 1945 by Sheérit HaPleitah of Metropolitan Chicago, the umbrella organization for Chicago-area Holocaust survivor groups. The Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago co-sponsors.

“71 years after the liberation of the concentration camps, we face a world of hatred and injustice against the Jewish people,” said Charles Lipshitz, president of Sheérit HaPleitah. “Europe, especially, claims it also suffered under Nazism in World War II, yet there still are nearly daily attacks there against Jews and Jewish institutions.

“This annual memorial honors the memory of our 6 million martyrs, including 1½ million innocent children who perished only because they were Jews,” Lipshitz said. “We cannot let the world forget that a modern society, Nazi Germany, was capable of committing such atrocities. Many reactionary forces are hard at work to change history and deny that the Holocaust ever happened. We must be vigilant not to allow this to occur.”

“The number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling to a precious few as we approach the 71 ^st anniversary of the end of World War II,” said Larry Schwartz, president of the Association of Descendants of the Shoah – Illinois, Inc. “We, as children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, are taking an active role in reminding the world that the crimes of Nazi Germany can happen again if we do not maintain vigilance. The legacy of the Holocaust survivors will be sustained and enhanced through our education and outreach efforts, for we shall never forget the sacrifices of the Six Million Jews who did not live to see the Nazi war machine defeated.”

I. M. Hubscher, representing the Sheérit HaPleitah Memorial Committee, said “We will not remain silent in the face of the Iranian, Arab, ISIS or any other wish to destroy Israel. This circle of violence must stop, and we, as children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of survivors will continue to lead the effort to eradicate hate, death and destruction.”

A high point of the annual memorial service is the candle-lighting ceremony honoring the Six Million Jewish victims who perished. The ceremony will be conducted by Sherry Rubinstein Warso of Dor L’Dor, the Young Leadership Division of Sheérit HaPleitah, with participation by children and grandchildren of local survivors.

Speakers at this year’s service will include the Honorable Roey Gilad, Consul General of Israel, Mayor George Van Dusen of Skokie, and Bill Silverstein of the Jewish United Fund. Officials of the Jewish War Veterans – Skokie Post 328, along with Jewish Boy Scout Troops #69 and #243, will present colors.

As part of the ceremony, winners of the third annual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) essay contest will be announced by David Levine, chairman of the event. A grandchild of survivors will pay tribute to the tremendous contributions Holocaust survivors have made to the Chicago community in passing their legacy of courage to future generations.

Proclamations by Gov. Bruce Rauner, Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago and Mayor Van Dusen will be published in a memorial journal.

The Village of Skokie has long supported Sheérit HaPleitah’s efforts to sustain the memory of the Holocaust. When, in 1978, the American Nazi Party chose Skokie for its infamous demonstration, Sheérit HaPleitah helped lead the opposition, with the assistance of then-Mayor Albert J. Smith and the village trustees. The struggle was portrayed in a made-for-television movie starring Danny Kaye.

Sheérit HaPleitah later led the movement to construct a monument in memory of the Holocaust victims on the Skokie Village Green, on land donated by the village and with funds collected from area individuals and synagogues and the Jewish United Fund.

The sculpture by Edward Chesney, depicting three generations, torn prayer books, a menorah, and other items symbolizing the destruction of European Jewry, was unveiled on May 31, 1987. That night, the memorial received worldwide attention after it was desecrated with spray paint, including the epithet “Jew liars” and other messages of hate.

“This insidious act made the message on the dedication plaque even more meaningful,” said Lipshitz. It reads, “This monument will remain in perpetuity as a reminder of what hate can do to mankind if decent people are not vigilant to forestall such a calamity in the future.”

A documentary by Todd Whitman about the days leading up to the proposed demonstration aired on PBS in January 2013. The film featured many Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, as well as activists from the next generation who stood ready to protect the survivor community.

Sheérit HaPleitah includes the following groups: Association of Descendents of the Shoah – Illinois, Inc.; Hofesh Chapter – Na’amat USA; the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center; Jewish Lithuanian Club of Chicago; Laor Organization; Midwest Chestochover Society; New Citizens Club; Workman’s Circle; The United Chicago Jews of Hungarian Descent, Inc.; Association of Child Survivors; Dr. Janusz Korczak B’nai Brith Lodge; and Dor L’Dor, a group of children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who will play an important role of carrying on their legacy.