- Headline
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Memorial For Jews March 9
- Publication Date
- Saturday, February 20, 1943
- Historical Event
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"We Will Never Die"
This database includes 395 articles about this event - Tags
- Article Type
- Newspaper
- Location
- Page Section and Number
- 7
- Author/Byline
- --
- Article Text
- In the face of the recent Nazi edict threatening the elimination of all the Jews in Bohemia, Moravia and Berlin by March 31. Jewish ladies of New York City are redoubling their efforts on behalf of the mass memorial "We Will Never Die" to be held at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday evening, March 9, according to Ben Hecht and Billy Rose, chairmen of the sponsoring committee.
March 9 has been designated a day of grief, in memory to the more than 2,000,000 European Jews slain or "liquidated'' by Hitler, with special prayers for those now facing certain doom. Black armbands will be worn by all Jews in New York City and an urgent plea has been sent out for all Jewish-owned stores to remain closed. Plans are now under way to have Mayor LaGuardia officially proclaim March 9 a day of mourning for the dead and dying victims of the greatest scourge ever visited upon mankind.
"We Will Never Die," a pageant written by Ben Hecht and produced by Billy Rose, will climax the day. It will reaffirm the Jewish place in history and in the current conflict with special pleas for understanding and justice at any peace conference.
More than 500 cantors will form a special choral group to sing the ancient songs of lsrael [sic]. An original musical score by Kurt Weill will be played by a 100-piece symphony orchestra. The entire evening will be one of the utmost solemnity, ending with the Jewish prayer for the dead (the Kaddish).
Tickets for "We Will Never Die" may be obtained In Room 701. 1 East Forty-fourth street, New York, or by telephoning MU. 27237. - History Unfolded Contributor
- skyler f.
- Location of Research
- Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com)
Learn More about this Historical Event: "We Will Never Die"
- “We Will Never Die”: Shattering the Silence Surrounding the Holocaust (Encyclopedia Article)
- Kurt Weill and We Will Never Die (Encyclopedia Article)
- Ben Hecht (Encyclopedia Article)
- Peter Bergson (Encyclopedia Article)
Bibliography
Citron, Atay. "Pagentry and Theatre in the Service of Jewish Nationalism in the United States, 1933–1646." PhD dissertation, New York University, 1989.
Hecht, Ben. A Child of the Century. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954.
Hecht, Ben. We Will Never Die. Two unpublished versions of the script bearing Weill's annotations. Weill-Lenya Research Center: Series 20 and Yale Collection, folder 475.
Peck, Sarah E. "The Campaign for an American Response to the Holocaust 1943–1945," Journal of Contemporary History 15, 367–400.
Penkower, Monty N. "In Dramatic Dissent: The Bergson Boys," American Jewish History 70, 281–309.
Whitfield, Stephen J. "The Politics of Pageantry, 1936–1946." American Jewish History 84, no. 3 (1996): 221–251.
Wyman, David S. and Rafael Medoff. A Race Against Death: Peter Bergson, America, and the Holocaust. New York: The New Press, 2002.
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