September 1, 2005 Veterans History Project Commemorates the 60th Anniversary of the End of World War II with Dance and Music

To mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, is sponsoring two special concerts to be held in November in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Both concerts are free, but reservations are required by calling (202) 707-6179 or e-mailing vhpRSVP@loc.gov.

The first concert, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, is a program created and performed by the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, including “Small Dances About Big Ideas,” Lerman’s new work that she created in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials. In it, the company explores stories of wartime service and concentration camp liberators and the personal papers of Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, who was the chief American prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. His papers are held by the Library of Congress’s Manuscript Division. The work also drew inspiration from personal accounts of atrocities in Rwanda and Bosnia, and the overall questions of law and its relationship to justice. The presentation is co-sponsored with the Harvard Law School, through a commission supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts.

The second presentation, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, is a performance by the Master Chorale of Washington of “Holocaust Cantata: Songs from the Camps,” awork based on the songs and letters written by Nazi concentration camp prisoners. The cantata, composed and conducted by Donald McCullough, stands as a tribute to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. The program will include selected readings from the collections of the Veterans History Project.

The Veterans History Project, mandated by the U.S. Congress in 2000, collects and archives the personal recollections of U.S. wartime veterans to honor their service and share their stories with current and future generations. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/vets.