NORTHBROOK, Ill. — A daffodil garden in Northbrook is in full bloom and it’s part of a project to create a living Holocaust memorial at locations around the world.

Last fall, seeds were planted on the JCC’s campus in Northbrook.

“We have a beautiful garden,” Rachael Finkel, the JCC’s senior manager of family programs, said. “Timing was perfect and our flowers are in bloom.”

It’s part of a worldwide daffodil project honoring the 1.5 million children murdered during the Holocaust.

“The daffodil is a very resilient flower,” Finkel said. “Comes up every year. The yellow represents the stars Jews had to wear during the Holocaust and the shape is even similar to that star shape.”

During the program at the gardens on Sunday morning, there was a performance with a violin of hope.

The collection of string instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust will be showcased at events throughout the Chicago area over the next several months.

Baila Vaysman will soon turn 12.

For her Bat Mitzvah projects, she’s using her love of singing to honor her great-grandparents who were Holocaust survivors. All but one have now passed away.

“They were brave and it’s very hard to think about how my family went through something as horrendous as the Holocaust,” Vaysman said. “I really hope that this never happens again if we just remember it and we can learn from it.”