Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Israel it is called Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG’vurah, Day (of Remembrance of) the Holocaust and Heroism.
It has been 80 years.
This column concludes with a request.
Three months ago, on January 27, we marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Red Army. The hardened Russian soldiers, accustomed to seeing terrible things in battle, were shocked to see how horrifically the Nazis treated the Jewish inmates.
Nine days ago, on April 15, we marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by the British 11th Armored Division. Sixty thousand prisoners—starved and near death—were discovered. Thirteen thousand bodies lay unburied. Just four days earlier, U.S. forces from the 6th Armored Division entered Buchenwald.
On May 7, 1945, German armed forces surrendered unconditionally.
How do we collectively and properly observe a holiday dedicated to the memory of those precious souls who were murdered? Six million of our people, including one million children. I do not know. The suffering was so enormous, the pain so widespread, the impact for centuries so incalculable…
Earlier this year, a three-hour ceremony marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It took place in the concentration camp. You can view the full ceremony here. While the entire video is worthy of our time, I request you view thirteen minutes, starting at 1:51:43 and concluding at 2:04:16. It conveys more than any words I can write.
May God cradle their souls in a loving embrace for eternity.
—Rabbi David Woznica