We commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day every year on January 27th. This day serves as a moment of collective reflection that brings us back to the horrors of the Nazi extermination. This symbolic day remembers all the victims of the Holocaust but also serves to renew a commitment against hatred and intolerance.
Historical context: The origins of the Shoah
The Hebrew term Shoah means the genocide of European Jews by the Nazi regime during World War II. People often use this term as a substitute for the name “Holocaust,” which originates from the Greek word “holokaustos,” which signifies “sacrifice”. The Shoah was a systematic and planned extermination of about six million Jews, nearly two-thirds of the European Jewish population at the time.
The historical context of the Shoah stems from the tensions and conflicts of the 20th century. With the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Germany faced a severe economic crisis due to war reparations. In a climate of national resentment and humiliation, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party emerged as new political forces, promising renewed national pride and an end to suffering. However, Hitler’s political agenda was based on racial hatred, particularly against Jews, who were unjustly accused of being the cause of Germany’s problems. But the persecution of Jews under the Nazi regime was not an isolated event but the culmination of centuries of antisemitism in Europe.
Precedents
During the 19th century, antisemitism deeply rooted itself in European society. This attitude stemmed from religious, economic, and cultural prejudices. Irrational hatred found fertile ground in Germany after World War I, where military defeat and economic crisis created a sense of despair and resentment. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party exploited these feelings, using Jews as scapegoats for the nation’s difficulties.
With the Nazis’ rise to power in 1933, antisemitism became state policy. Racial laws, the boycott of Jewish shops, and the progressive exclusion of Jews from public life were just the beginning. The Night of Broken Glass in 1938 marked an intensification of violence against Jews, leading to systematic extermination in concentration camps during World War II.
Racial persecutions
From 1933, with Hitler’s rise to power, Jews began to suffer a series of persecutions that intensified with the approval of the Nuremberg racial laws in 1935. These laws excluded Jews from German public and civil life, depriving them of civil rights and citizenship. State-sponsored antisemitism reached its peak during the Night of Broken Glass, which occurred between November 9 and 10, 1938. It was a series of violent pogroms against Jews throughout Germany.
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, persecution turned into systematic genocide. Jews were captured throughout Nazi-occupied Europe. Nazis deported them to concentration and extermination camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor, where they faced mass death. Atrocities included summary executions, forced labor, starvation, medical experiments, and death in gas chambers.
The Shoah is a symbol of human cruelty and indifference toward others’ suffering. It serves as a universal warning against hatred, racism, and fanaticism. Its annual commemoration serves to remember the victims and educate future generations on the importance of human rights and mutual respect in preventing similar tragedies.
The Symbol of Memory: Auschwitz-Birkenau and other extermination camps
The liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on January 27, 1945, marked a key moment in World War II history. This camp, the largest and deadliest of the Nazi extermination camps, became the very symbol of the Holocaust. Here, over a million people, mostly Jews, met their deaths through industrialized methods of extermination. The discovery of Auschwitz by Soviet forces revealed the unimaginable horror and brutality of the Nazi regime. Gas chambers, crematorium ovens, and thousands of people living in inhumane conditions barely escaping starvation and diseases.
The liberation of Auschwitz was not an isolated event. The Allies liberated other extermination and concentration camps, such as Dachau, Treblinka, Sobibor, Buchenwald, and Bergen-Belsen, in the following months.
Righteous Among the Nations
In the heart of the Holocaust tragedy, stories of exceptional courage and humanity emerged. “Righteous Among the Nations” are those non-Jewish individuals who, at great personal risk, endeavored to save Jews from persecution and death during the Shoah. These people demonstrated extraordinary moral strength and humanity in a time of darkness and despair.
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, has recognized thousands of Righteous Among the Nations, giving them a place of honor in the “Garden of the Righteous.” This recognition not only honors their courageous actions but also serves to remember the capacity for resilience and humanity in times of unspeakable cruelty.
Among these heroes, we find stories of individuals, entire families, and groups who hid, protected, and helped Jews, often risking their own safety and that of their families. Acts of heroism varied. They could provide a secret hiding place, forge identity documents, or offer material assistance.
The significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
The liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945 coincides with the celebration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th. International Holocaust Remembrance Day represents a solemn moment of reflection and commemoration of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and other people persecuted and killed by the Nazis during World War II.
Today, in an era witnessing a worrying increase in antisemitism and denialism, the significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day is more relevant than ever. It is a call to reaffirm our values of humanity, equality, and dignity for all. It is also a moment to educate new generations about the dangers of prejudice and the importance of diversity and mutual respect.
Memory in the Modern World
In today’s digital world, International Holocaust Remembrance Day plays a crucial role in educating new generations about the dangers of hate, intolerance, and denialism that pervade part of contemporary history. Access to technology and social media has opened new avenues for Holocaust education.
Initiatives such as the “TikTok—Holocaust Education and Commemoration” project demonstrate the innovative use of social media to raise awareness among young generations. This project by the American Jewish Committee of Berlin uses TikTok to raise awareness of places and museums of memory. It presents educational and engaging stories to a predominantly young audience.
Shoah sites around the world
During International Holocaust Remembrance Day, there are several significant places around the world worth visiting to reflect and remember the victims of the Shoah.
- Holocaust Memorials. In many cities worldwide, Holocaust memorials offer a space for reflection. The Berlin Holocaust Memorial, also known as the “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe,” is famous. This impressive memorial consists of 2,711 concrete blocks of various heights, arranged in a grid on a sloping field.
- Holocaust Museums. Holocaust museums, like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, are essential places for understanding the history and impact of the Shoah. These museums present educational exhibitions and offer personal testimonies, documents, and photographs that tell individual stories.
- Auschwitz-Birkenau. Located in Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau is perhaps the most well-known of the Nazi extermination camps. Today, it is a museum and memorial that attracts visitors from around the world. Visiting Auschwitz provides a direct understanding of the extent and brutality of the Holocaust.
- Other concentration camps. Memorial sites and museums have transformed other Nazi concentration and extermination camps, such as Dachau in Germany, Treblinka, and Sobibor in Poland.
- Jewish Ghettos. Ghettos, like the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland, where Jews were confined during World War II, are places of significant historical meaning.
Shoah sites in Italy
Fossoli Camp (Carpi, Emilia Romagna)
The Fossoli Camp, located near the town of Carpi in the Emilia Romagna region, dates back to 1942. It became notoriously known as the main concentration and transit camp for Italian Jews and political opponents headed toward Auschwitz. The Fossoli Camp served as a place of internment for prisoners of the fascist regime. The Jewish Italian writer Primo Levi, who briefly experienced the camp, mentioned it in the opening pages of his famous work “If This Is a Man.”
The Fossoli Foundation is responsible for the memorial consisting of the remains of the camp, the Monument Museum to the Deported, and the former synagogue. The Fossoli Camp is open for free access during opening days and hours, or by guided tour for a fee with prior booking.
The Rome Ghetto
This ghetto is among the oldest in the world, second only to the Venice Ghetto. It represents one of the most fascinating attractions in Rome. The first roundup in the Rome Ghetto by the Gestapo took place on October 16, 1943, the so-called “Black Saturday.” The Gestapo arrested 1,259 people, including 207 children. The arrests took place mainly in Via del Portico d’Ottavia. They sent 1,023 Jews directly to Auschwitz. Only 16 survived.
Today the “Ghetto of Rome” refers to the area between the Portico d’Ottavia and the Tiber. Next to the Portico of Ottavia and near the Theater of Marcellus, Rome’s fish market arose during the Middle Ages. In the restaurants of this area, it is still possible to taste typical ghetto dishes. Among these dishes are fish soup and Jewish artichokes. They are Roman artichokes fried in oil.
Shoah Memorial: Track 21 in Milan
The Shoah Memorial of Milan is located on the floor below the tracks of the Central Station. Between 1943 and 1945, on platform 21, Jews and prisoners from the San Vittore prisons boarded cattle cars. From Track 21, they traveled to the German extermination camps or the Italian collection camps.
On December 6, 1943, the first convoy filled with Jews departed from this location. There were 169 people on board, of whom only 5 returned. The second train to Auschwitz-Birkenau left on January 30, 1944. Among the Jews on board was the then thirteen-year-old Liliana Segre. The Memorial of Track 21 is always accessible during opening days and hours.
National Peace Park of S. Anna di Stazzema (Lucca, Tuscany)
The small Tuscan village of Sant’Anna di Stazzema suffered one of the most brutal massacres of the Nazi-fascist period in Italy. On August 12, 1944, the terrible German troops rounded up the entire population. They killed 560 civilians, including 130 children. In 2000, the municipality founded the National Peace Park to remember this tragic extermination.
It is a place to keep the memory alive and educate new generations on the values of peace, justice, and respect. The park extends over the hills surrounding the village, located about 40 kilometers north of the city of Lucca. It includes the sacred area, the church square, and the Historical Museum of the Resistance. The Ossuary Monument can be found on the Via Crucis and Col di Cava.
Monte Sole Historical Park and Peace School (Marzabotto, Emilia Romagna)
In 1989, the Monte Sole Peace Park and School was established to honor yet another horrific massacre. The Marzabotto massacre was one of the most serious war crimes against the civilian population. The Wehrmacht, the SS, and the fascists killed 1,830 people from September 29 to October 5, 1944. The Historical Park of Monte Sole stands in the extensive area of the massacre. It aims to maintain historical memory and educate about peace among peoples.
Facts about Holocaust Remembrance Day
- Origin of the date. The choice of January 27th as Holocaust Remembrance Day is not arbitrary. This date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. It has become an international symbol to commemorate all the victims of the Holocaust.
- Diversity in commemorations. Despite the universally solemn tone, commemorations of Holocaust Remembrance Day vary greatly from country to country. Some countries focus on educational events, others on commemorative ceremonies, while yet others emphasize the importance of direct testimony from survivors.
- The illumination of monuments. On the evening of Holocaust Remembrance Day, many cities illuminate monuments and significant places as a symbolic gesture of remembrance and reflection.
- Stumbling Stones (Stolpersteine). Scattered throughout Europe, “stumbling stones” are small monuments that commemorate individuals who were victims of Nazism. The sidewalk embeds these small brass plaques in front of their last known residences.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day Gallery
