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Several hundred people from throughout Pinellas County are expected to gather today to remember the 11-million men, women and children who perished at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
The theme of the ceremony at the Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg will be "Sustaining the Memory."
Rabbi Michael Torop of Temple Beth-El, who put together the service portion of the program organized by the museum and the Pinellas County Board of Rabbis, specifically sought poetry, readings and reflections that focused on the idea "that it is up to us to remember and ensure that the memory is sustained of the Holocaust."
A highlight of the Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day service to remember the 6-million Jews and 5-million others including Jehovah's Witnesses, Gypsies, the mentally and physically handicapped and homosexuals, will be a candle-lighting ceremony by several Holocaust survivors and their families.
Keynote speaker will be Warren L. Miller, a Washington lawyer who is chairman of the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. The commission is the U.S. agency charged with protecting and preserving monuments, historic buildings, cemeteries and other property important to the foreign heritage of Americans.
Amy Epstein, chairman of the board of the Florida Holocaust Museum, is responsible for Miller's visit. She is also a member of the commission that helps to preserve...