Night of honour and harmony at the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre

The Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre plans to celebrate the courage of children in the face of adversity.

This celebration, which is in partnership with Dr Shayla Hirschson, and artistic leads from Tony Bentel and Emmarentia resident, Selwyn Klass, takes place on 11 June, the eve of Anne Frank’s birthday and insight of Youth Day which falls on 16 June.

This evening is themed Hope and Harmony as there is no better way to convey this message than through music. There will also be visuals meant to inspire and motivate.

Klass said this event will be a way of honouring young people as they are our future. “It is a tribute to the resilient spirit of young people,” he said. The evening will honour Anne Frank who would have been 88 years old this year. Klass shared, like Nelson Mandela, Anne Frank had an extraordinarily focused feeling that people were good at heart, notwithstanding the war and being ostracised for their religion or ethnicity.

“Children want to grow up in a world they can be proud of, after all, they were ‘born free’.

Hirschson, said when one reflects on the newsworthy events that have happened through the years, what stays with them is the darkness of that time. Adding that children who face hardships are like Anne – all they want to do is enjoy being a child. “That’s what we are trying to do on this evening, remind people it’s not only about the darkness.”

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Bentel added that the older people get, the more cynical they become, “You can hardly maintain your belief in humanity, so you go back to children, as they have the innate conviction the world will be a better place.”

“We wanted to honour this extraordinary soul and the role of children in society,” concluded Klass.

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