On November 1, 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution marking January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this date in 1945, Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau. As historian Dan Stone reminds us, liberation “was a process, something that happened over time - sometimes a very long time. Not only were many survivors far from feeling joyful, often they were just as far from being healed.” Many who were liberated did not survive to enjoy their freedom. Even so, over time, many Holocaust survivors did in fact build new, productive, even joyful lives. These include the survivors who founded The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center (HMTC).
The purpose of International Holocaust Remembrance Day is both to commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime and to encourage Holocaust education across the globe. With all of this in mind, HMTC encourages members of our community to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day by viewing Stories of Courage, a film that highlights the testimonies of survivors who associated with HMTC:
https://www.hmtcli.org/courage
Members of our community may also wish to register for and view one of the following virtual events:
A community reading of Elie Wiesel's Night (Museum of Jewish Heritage), accompanied by music and speeches (Sunday, 1/28, 1PM ET) https://mjhnyc.org/events/nightreading/
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Stay Connected Live series, featuring the testimony of Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman (Friday, 1/26, 1PM ET) https://www.ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day.
During the week before and after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, HMTC will be well-represented in programs on Long Island, including events for The Town of Oyster Bay (Moji Pourmoradi), the Plainview-Old Bethpage school district (Chris Probst), and the Nassau County Courts (Dana Arschin and Leo Ullman). In addition to this, HMTC survivors and 2G's will be fanning out across Long Island to speak to hundreds of students for Remembrance Day programs.
The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center is dedicated to educating students and the community about the atrocities of the Holocaust and the importance of tolerance and respect for all people. HMTC serves as a valuable resource for school programs, lectures, training and other educational opportunities.
View of a section of the barbed-wire fence and barracks at Auschwitz at the time of the liberation of the camp. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Philip Vock.