FOCUS: Daffodils to be planted Nov. 13 to remember holocaust

Staff reports  |  College of Charleston sophomore honors student Samantha Krantz is hoping to beautify the Charleston Holocaust Memorial in Marion Square by working Nov. 13 with volunteers to plant 1,800 daffodil bulbs as a living memorial.

You can join the effort at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 13 to remember the 1.5 million children who perished in the holocaust.  The garden will be planted at the memorial, which was erected in 1999, “to remember those who were murdered in the Holocaust and to honor the survivors who came to South Carolina to rebuild their lives,” according to the college.

Krantz

Krantz felt empowered to launch a living garden after discovering her family’s history with the holocaust, and traveling to Eastern Europe over the summer with College of Charleston Zucker/Goldberg Professor of Holocaust Studies Theodore Rosengarten, a press release said.  Krantz is the recipient of the Klaper Fellowship in Jewish Studies, which charges recipients with bettering the Lowcountry.

A brief ceremony will precede the planting, with remarks delivered by local holocaust survivor Joe Engel and philanthropist Anita Zucker, herself a child of holocaust survivors.

The Daffodil Project, a worldwide initiative empowering holocaust education created by the Atlanta- based non-profit Am Yisrael Chai, aspires to build a living holocaust memorial by planting 1.5 million daffodils around the world to remember the children who perished at the hands of the Nazis. Daffodils represent the yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust, and the flower symbolizes both remembrance and resilience. By drawing attention to the memorial through the Daffodil Project, members of the Charleston community can work together to pledge that these victims will not be forgotten, the release said.

Krantz’s efforts are being supported by the College of Charleston Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program, the City of Charleston Department of Parks, Charleston Parks Conservancy, and the Charleston Jewish Federation’s REMEMBER Program for Holocaust Education and Genocide Awareness.

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