Seven decades after the Nazi concentration camps were liberated and the gates swung open, Chicago’s Jewish community will joyfully commemorate the end of the darkness.

Many are expected to mark the 70th anniversary with a communitywide celebration at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue, 8825 East Prairie Road, Skokie. The event is sponsored by the Jewish United Fund and Sheerit Hapleitah of Metropolitan Chicago, the umbrella organization of the area’s Holocaust survivors.

The luncheon will feature the Maxwell Street Klezmer Ensemble and special guest speaker Yaakov Katz, author and Harvard University lecturer.

“The Chicago area is home to the largest community of Holocaust survivors in the Midwest,” said Charles Lipshitz, president of Sheerith Hapleitah. “We survived the impossible, and are determined to continue. We stand strong with our families and future generations.”