19 May 2024 – Remembering the Past, Celebrating the Future

by Adrian Lister

On the afternoon of Sunday 19 May, around 120 people filled the FPS sanctuary for an evening that will live in the memory of many who attended. A joint event by FPS and Kingston Liberal Synagogue, with participation also from Wimbledon Reform Synagogue, it raised funds for Generation 2 Generation (G2G) and the Leo Baeck Education Center (Haifa). Remembering the Past, Creating the Future was subtitled An inspiring evening of Testimony and Music – and inspiring, moving and thoroughly captivating it was.  The continuous flow of songs, instrumental work, and prose or poetry with gentle musical accompaniment, held the audience in rapt attention.  The performances, of outstanding artistic quality, came from the heart, not least because in many cases those singing, playing or reciting were the direct descendants of parents and grandparents who had perished in, or been profoundly affected by, the Holocaust.  In several cases the words or music had been composed by those caught up in the cauldron of Nazi-occupied Europe; in others they had been written by the performers themselves. The event memorialised in particular the deportation of Hungarian Jews 80 years ago; and we also remembered the fate of the Roma in Hungary and elsewhere. Although solemn in theme, the event evoked a powerful sense of our shared history, and of the humanity and creativity that can be inspired in even the darkest of times.

A recording is available for a donation. Please contact Lesley at bookings@generation2generation.org.uk