The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted a tribute to survivors of the Holocaust in November of 2003.

About 2500 survivors gathered with their children and grandchildren at the museum in Washington, D.C. for its tenth anniversary. In total, more than 7000 people attended the event.

The event began with a formal dinner on Saturday night, November 1. Speakers included Benjamin Meed, president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. "We now pass the torch to our children and their children," he said. "We do so with hope, resolve and love."

On Sunday, the museum was closed to the general public. Events were held inside for the survivors and their families. And large tents behind the museum held rows of circular tables. On the tables were white signs with the names of the home towns of the survivors as well as the names of other places of significance - such as Auschwitz, Dachau, and Buchenwald.

The survivors gathered around the "affinity tables" to share their experiences with other survivors and with their children and grandchildren.

Miriam Apfel of Leesburg, Florida, was just 11 years old when she was taken from her home in Sosnowiec, Poland. Sixty years later, she had no problem remembering the names of streets in Sosnowiec and her classmates in school. At the tribute, she met several people from Sosnowiec and nearby towns.

Just outside the large tents, in a smaller tent, survivors left notes - white cards tacked to bulletin boards. Some of the people posting the cards were seeking information about specific people. Others were looking for people from specific cities or camps.

After dinner, the event ended with a special musical performance, "An Evening with Mike Burstyn and Stars of the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater, Joanne Borts, Adrienne Cooper, Eleanor Reissa, and Zalmen Mlotek."