The U.S. Department of State is gearing up to host the 31st Annual Federal Inter-Agency Holocaust Remembrance Program, titled “Stories of Courage,” on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. The event, scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EDT), will be livestreamed from the Burns Auditorium of the Marshall Center at State to federal employees and the public.

Among the key speakers at the program will be Holocaust survivors Ruth Cohen from North Bethesda, Maryland, and Allan Hall from Miami, Florida. The event will be moderated by Ellen Germain, the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues at the U.S. Department of State. Additionally, federal officials, including Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, will also deliver remarks.

Sarah Morgenthau, the Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs at the U.S. State Department and the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, will share insights on her grandfather, Henry Morgenthau Jr., who served as FDR’s U.S. Treasury Secretary. She will discuss his instrumental role in establishing the War Refugee Board, which played a crucial part in rescuing Jewish and other Holocaust refugees.

The Federal Inter-Agency Holocaust Remembrance Program, which originated at the Department of Education in 1994, has now expanded to include over 40 federal agencies. For those interested in learning more about the program, further details can be found at www.holocaustremembrance.org.