Bishop to take part in Day of Remembrance

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger is honored to take part in a Day of Remembrance on Thursday, April 28, at 3 p.m., remembering the approximately six million Jewish people killed by the Nazis.

The ceremony will take place on the site of the future Capital Region Holocaust Memorial at 2575 Troy Schenectady Road in Niskayuna. It’s just over two acres of land that Bishop Scharfenberger and the Albany Diocese donated to this project.

“This memorial is about education. It’s about passing on to, particularly our young people, the story that is behind this,” said Bishop Scharfenberger. “And, as it has often been said, ‘Whoever does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it.’”

Bishop Scharfenberger is a consultant to the Bishop’s Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and in 2019, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Scharfenberger to be consultant to the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

Dr. Michael Lozman is the man behind the mission to develop the local Holocaust Memorial. “The Bishop played such an extraordinary role when he donated the land to make this possible,” Dr. Lozman said.

“The purpose of this Memorial is two-fold; to memorialize the six million Jewish people killed in the Holocaust and to speak out against hatred, prejudice, and bigotry.”

Dr. Lozman came up with the idea for the memorial as he worked with local college students to restore Jewish cemeteries in the Capital Region.

Note to anyone attending: Wear good footing. The site was cleared for this service but is still undeveloped. Organizers thought it was important to have this remembrance where the Holocaust Memorial will stand.