Beth El and Ahavath Achim to host Holocaust Remembrance program

Published 5:35 am Saturday, April 15, 2023

On Sunday, the two Jewish congregations of Tyler – Ahavath Achim and Beth El – will be hosting a community-wide Holocaust Remembrance program.

The service begins the week of the commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, acccording to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah.

Every year the congregation hosts this event, they look for a speaker who shares a personal tie with the horrific events that took place during the Holocaust.

This year’s speaker will be Nico Van Thyn, the son of two Holocaust survivors.

Van Thyn was born in Amsterdam and came to the U.S. in 1956. He grew up in Shreveport and was a sports writer, editor, and copy editor for over 45 years. He authored a book about his parents, “Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust Stories.”

An excerpt from the book reads:

“They did not know each other before World War II, although they were from the same neighborhood in Amsterdam. Rose and Louis Van Thyn each endured Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps, were the only surviving members of their original families, lost their first spouses, and met and married after the war in Amsterdam.”

While Yom Hashoah rituals are still in flux there is no question this day holds great meaning for Jews worldwide. The overwhelming theme that runs through all observances is the importance of remembering — recalling the victims of this catastrophe, and insuring that such a tragedy never happen again, according to My Jewish Learning.

The Sunday program will include candle lighting, prayers, songs, and the special presentation by Van Thyn.

The remembrance event will take place on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth El located at 1010 Charleston Drive in Tyler.

The event is free and open to all in the community.