By Elle Ryan, Resident in Counseling
International Holocaust Remembrance Day solemnly honors and remembers the victims of the Holocaust. This tragic event resulted in the genocide of one third of the Jewish population and countless members of other minorities at the hands of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Observed on January 27, this memorial day hallmarks the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army in 1945.
When Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power, they quickly utilized the government to target and exclude the Jewish people from German society. This process involved implementing antisemitic measures, discriminatory laws and organized violence aimed specifically at Germany’s Jewish population. The radicalization of Jewish persecution culminated into the Nazi Party’s “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” a plan that organized the systematic mass murder of six million European Jews from 1941 to 1945.
In the United States, antisemitic incidents are on the rise today. Originating from prejudice, discrimination and dehumanization, the Holocaust teaches us the crucial lesson to remain vigilant against early signs of intolerance and bigotry in all its forms. By remembering the Holocaust, we recognize the importance of upholding and protecting human rights and dignity of all individuals.
At the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and various other Holocaust commemoration sites, the memory of Holocaust victims are honored by the reading of their names, the symbolic act of lighting candles and by engaging in education about the profound tragedy of the Holocaust. In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will be live streaming their Stay Connected Live virtual series with special guest Tova Friedman on January 26, 2024 at 1 p.m. as he talks about surviving Auschwitz and the recent surge of antisemitism on the Museum’s YouTube channel.
For anyone impacted by the ripple effects of the Holocaust, we remember you. And for anyone facing prejudice and marginalization today, we stand by you. We’ll do our part to ensure that history never repeats itself.
Sources:
https://www.ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/importance-teaching-and-learning-about-holocaust