'Never again:' Families of Holocaust survivors commemorate 6 million lives lost

Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald on Apr 27, 2025

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Families of survivors and Jewish community members walked together and placed stones and flowers in an annual ceremony at the Holocaust memorial in Boston on Sunday.

“I’m a second generation. My parents were Holocaust survivors. My father just passed away six weeks ago, at 96,” said Susan Kleiner, standing next to generations of her family at the memorial. “My daughter is a 3G (third generation) and her children are 4G. It’s important to show up and show the world, never again.”

The community came together for a family-friendly ceremony in honor of Yom HaShoah, which is also called Holocaust Remembrance Day and occurred from Wednesday night into Thursday.

The small crowd gathered on the steps of the Massachusetts State House at 11 a.m. and walked together New England Holocaust Memorial, part of the international six million steps initiative in honor the six million lives lost during the Holocaust. The group then heard community members speak, sing and pray before painting rocks of remembrance and placing them on the memorial — a Jewish tradition typically done at gravesites.

The event is an “opportunity for people of all ages to reflect, remember, and ensure that the stories of the past continue to be told for generations to come,” organizers said.

“It’s hard to know how to talk to young kids about these things, and so coming to events like this, I think, gives meaning and allows for conversation,” said Kleiner’s daughter Jamie Jacobs, standing with her young children Rafi and Liev after they placed their stones. “And they can see other kids that are also a part of this, and start to understand their legacy and what their great grandparents went through.”

Its a “big loss” not to have the great-grandparents here this year, the Newton mother said.

Several speakers spoke to troubling trends, with one noting “antisemitism is once again on the rise, on our campuses, in our schools, online, and even in mainstream discourse.”

“It was 80 years ago that this happened to our grandparents, our parents, and there’s even some survivors here,” said Lisa Einstein, president of Boston 3G. “And as the survivors are no longer with us, we want to make sure that the stories are not forgotten, especially in the time that we’re in with rampant antisemitism and Jewish hatred.”

Community members also noted the new Boston Holocaust Museum planned to open along the Freedom Trail in April 2026, and the importance of continuing to educate people on the tragedy.

“We just want to make sure that future generations know to be upstanders, not bystanders,” said Einstein. “And that they can ensure that this doesn’t happen again, that hatred and intolerance don’t win.”

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