Jan. 27 is designated by the United Nations (UN) as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The day is meant to honor the lives taken by the Nazi regime between 1941 and 1945 when they committed genocide against 6 million European Jews and other demographics.
“We cannot expect to make sense of such horror, but we can and must honor the memories of the millions lost by protecting today’s most vulnerable people. And we cannot delude ourselves into believing that just because we have a wonderful democracy, we will still have it tomorrow,” wrote Rabbi Seth Winberg in an email to the Brandeis community.
Winberg acknowledged that “there is no standard observance for Holocaust remembrance, especially here in America.” He provided resources that community members could use while reflecting on the Holocaust. One resource he provided was from The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website, where people can read and listen to the stories of survivors. Winberg wrote that while hearing stories in person was ideal, hearing stories online can still offer insight. By hearing personal stories of survivors, it can give individuals a better understanding of the scope of what happened.
“The Holocaust was unique, but it should not only be seen as part of Jewish history,” wrote Winberg.
Winberg went on to describe how the Holocaust is also tied to Germany’s history as well as discussing how it impacted the democracy of the country. Prior to the Holocaust, Winberg described Germany as having a “strong democracy” with “the most robust protections for individual liberties of any country.” Winberg states that even with a strong democracy, within a matter of years a genocide occurred. He cites this as a lesson to be learned of the dangers of inaction.
“Standing up for the defenseless and for what is right remains more relevant now than ever,” wrote Winberg.
Holocaust Remembrance Day is being celebrated a little more than a week after four hostages were held in a synagogue in Texas. Winberg notes in his email that antisemitism is not a spent force in the world. In the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2020 hate crime statistics, results showed that hate crimes were up and specifically crimes targeting Jewish Americans accounted for 54.9 percent of all religious-based hate crimes for 2020.
Winberg encouraged community members to remember and learn on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is marked on Jan. 27 for the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
