One long time resident of Normal said recent insensitive remarks by Presidential Press Secretary Sean Spicer highlight the importance of remembering the Holocaust.
Spicer implied Syrian military use of chemical weapons on civilians was worse than Nazi genocide, before retracting his remarks as they provoked negative reaction.
Myra Gordon said we need to hear memories of Holocaust survivors to remember the truth of that horror.
"I think it's particularly important because today each individual still has their story. Somehow, we need to listen to those individual stories and not make mass judgments," said Gordon.
Gordon will speak in memory of her aunt on Sunday at Moses Montefiore Temple on Robinhood Lane in Bloomington.
Gordon said her aunt escaped a concentration camp and fought with partisans, but was psychologically broken and ended up committing suicide years later in the U.S.
"In many ways she as the six million and one victim of the Holocaust because, while she survived, she was never able to have a normal life," said Gordon
The Holocaust remembrance vigil will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Jewish temple in Bloomington.
