The Northwest Louisiana community will once again come together to remember one of history’s darkest chapters and honor the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust.
The 43rd annual Northwest Louisiana Holocaust Remembrance Service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at First Methodist Church Shreveport.
For more than four decades, a coalition of local organizations has hosted the service as a time of reflection, education and unity. The event serves as a non-denominational gathering, welcoming people of all faiths to remember the victims and recommit to standing against injustice.
“This is about making sure these stories are never forgotten,” said Laura Popper Crawford, chair of this year’s event and a faculty member at Centenary College of Louisiana.
For Crawford, the mission is deeply personal.
She shared that while her father escaped Nazi Austria before Kristallnacht, many of her relatives were not as fortunate. Family members endured brutality, and others were killed during the Holocaust.
“If these stories are not passed down through generations, there is a real danger they will be forgotten,” Crawford said.
This year’s program will include a powerful musical and historical tribute. Cellist John-Henry Crawford will perform on his grandfather’s 200-year-old cello, an instrument that was smuggled out of Nazi-controlled Austria. The performance will be accompanied by storytelling and historical context tied to his family’s escape.
The Centenary College Choir, led by David Hobson, will also perform as part of the program.
A central moment of the service will be the lighting of 11 candles, representing the 11 million lives lost during the Holocaust, including 6 million Jews and millions of others targeted by the Nazi regime.
In addition to remembrance, the event highlights education and the importance of passing history to future generations.
Students and teachers who participated in the annual Holocaust Remembrance Literary and Arts Project will be recognized during the service. The initiative invites middle and high school students to explore the history of the Holocaust through creative expression, including essays, poetry, visual art and music.
More than 250 student submissions were received this year, with winners in each category to be announced at the event.
Organizers say the service is not only about looking back, but also about shaping the future.
Through shared remembrance and community cooperation, the event aims to inspire action and awareness, reinforcing the responsibility to confront injustice wherever it appears.
The service is free and open to the public, though registration is encouraged through HolocaustRemembranceService.org.
The event coincides with Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed internationally and tied to the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The day serves as a solemn reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II and the millions of lives lost.
For organizers, the message remains clear: remembrance is not just about the past, but about ensuring a more just future.
“Through remembering,” Crawford said, “we find the strength to prevent injustice in the world.”
