# Days of Remembrance observance held at HDI

/ Published May 7, 2024
BATTLE CREEK, Mich., 
Employees at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek, Michigan, recently gathered for a solemn Days of Remembrance observance honoring millions of Jewish and non-Jewish victims of Nazi persecution during World War II.

                Chris Judd, the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services director of resource management delivered the opening remarks for the Days of Remembrance observance at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek, Mich. Judd related a personal story of a visit to Dachau concentration camp.                            Judd                            Chris Judd, the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services director of resource management delivered the opening remarks for the Days of Remembrance observance at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek, Mich. Judd related a personal story of a visit to Dachau concentration camp.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Jeff LandenbergerVIRIN: 240424-D-YU183-0008The program began with a story shared by Chris Judd, the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services director of resource management. He recounted how, at his very first duty station in Germany with the U.S. Air Force in 1987, he took a bus tour that included a visit to the former Dachau concentration camp.

During the tour, the German guide, who had been a member of the Hitler Youth during the war, confessed his past to the group.

“An older gentleman who was on vacation from the U.S. walked up and hugged our guide and thanked him for his candor and willingness to open up and talk about these painful memories,” Judd said. “The tourist who had hugged our guide had himself been interred in a camp that had been liberated by the British at the wars end.”

After Judd’s remarks, Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity Office Special Emphasis Program Manager Lakeea Kelly presented a video about the historic figure Anne Frank that detailed her life in the Netherlands before and during the German occupation, including her family's two years in hiding.

                Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity Office Special Emphasis Program Manager Lakeea Kelly introduced a video on the life of Anne Frank.                            Kelly                            Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity Office Special Emphasis Program Manager Lakeea Kelly introduced a video on the life of Anne Frank.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Jeff LandenbergerVIRIN: 240424-D-YU183-0003                Anne Frank at 11 years of age, two years before going into hiding. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1940.                            Anne Frank                            Anne Frank at 11 years of age, two years before going into hiding. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1940.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: File photoVIRIN: 240507-D-YU183-0002The video highlighted how Frank's diary, given to her just before they went into hiding, survived the war despite her death in a concentration camp shortly before liberation. After the war, her father published her diary, which has since been translated into over 70 languages, preserving the story of Frank, her family, and countless others persecuted for their faith.

Kelly said, EEO strives to provide a space for reflection, empathy and fostering of understanding among the workforce. But with the Days of Remembrance observance, they also honor the bravery and courage of the Holocaust survivors while remembering and learning of the tragic events that took place during that time in history.