International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Encyclopedia
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, is an international memorial day for the victims of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

, the genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

 that resulted in the annihilation of 6 million European Jews and millions of others by the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 regime.. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 on 1 November 2005 during the 42nd plenary session. The resolution came after after a special session was held earlier that year on 24 January, 2005 during which the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

 marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust..

January 27 is the date, in 1945, when the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated by Soviet troops
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

.

Prior to the 60/7 resolution, there had been national days of commemoration, such as Germany's Tag des Gedenkens an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (The Day of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism), established in a proclamation issued by Federal President Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog is a German politician as a member of the Christian Democratic Union, and served as President of Germany from 1994 to 1999...

 on 3 January 1996; and the Holocaust memorial day observed every 27 January since 2001 in the UK.

The General Assembly Resolution 60/7

Resolution 60/7 establishing 27 January as International Holocaust Remembrance Day urges every member nation of the U.N. to honor the memory of Holocaust victims, and encourages the development of educational programs about Holocaust history to help prevent future acts of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

. It rejects any denial of the Holocaust
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...

 as an event and condemns all manifestations of religious intolerance
Religious intolerance
Religious intolerance is intolerance against another's religious beliefs or practices.-Definition:The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance...

, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief. It also calls for actively preserving the Holocaust sites that served as Nazi death camps, concentration camps, forced labor camps and prisons, as well as for establishing a U.N. programme of outreach and mobilization of society for Holocaust remembrance and education.

The essence of the text lies in its twofold approach: one that deals with the memory and remembrance of those who were massacred during the Holocaust, and the other with educating future generations of its horrors.


The International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust is thus a day on which we must reassert our commitment to human rights. [...]

We must also go beyond remembrance, and make sure that new generations know this history. We must apply the lessons of the Holocaust to today’s world. And we must do our utmost so that all peoples may enjoy the protection and rights for which the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 stands.

Message by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...

 for the second observance of the Holocaust Victims Memorial Day on 19 January 2008

Commemorations at the United Nations

In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Holocaust Remembrance Weeks were organized by The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme
United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 on Holocaust remembrance called for the establishment of a programme of outreach on the subject of the “Holocaust and the United Nations” and measures to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance and education, in order to help to prevent...

. This programme is part of the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information and was established under General Assembly resolution 60/7.

In 2006

On 24 January 2006, the opening of the Holocaust Remembrance Week took place at United Nations Headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...

 with the unveiling of an exhibit No Child's Play – Remembrance and Beyond in the Visitors' Lobby. This travelling exhibit, produced by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....

, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, opened a window into the world of children during the Shoah. It focused on toys, games, artwork, diaries and poems highlighting some of the personal stories of the children and providing a glimpse into their lives during the Holocaust. The exhibition told the story of survival — the struggle of these children to hold on to life.

On 25 January 2006 the screening of the movie Fateless by Lajos Koltai
Lajos Koltai
Lajos Koltai, ASC, HSC, is a Hungarian cinematographer and film director best known for his work with legendary Hungarian director Istvan Szabo, and Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore...

 took place in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium.

On 27 January 2006, the United Nations Department of Public Information held the first universal observance of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day at United Nations Headquarters.
In the General Assembly Hall a memorial ceremony and lecture was held under the theme “Remembrance and Beyond.” It featured welcoming remarks by former Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor; a videotaped message by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...

; statements by the permanent representatives of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and Brazil to the United Nations, and by Gerda Weissmann Klein
Gerda Weissmann Klein
Gerda Weissmann Klein is an author, humanitarian, historian, inspirational speaker , naturalized citizen and Holocaust survivor. For over six decades she has captivated audiences worldwide with her powerful message of hope, inspiration, love and humanity...

, holocaust survivor, author and historian Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation; narration of photographs of Holocaust victims memorialized on “Pages of Testimony” in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem; as well as a performance by The Zamir Chorale of Boston; and a lecture by Professor Yehuda Bauer, academic advisor to Yad Vashem, and the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.

Sources: Calendar of events for the 2006 Holocaust Remembrance Week at United Nations Headquarters

Official Website for the 2006 Commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust at United Nations Headquarters

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In 2007

On 29 January 2007, the second annual observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust was held in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters.

Shasta Tharp, former Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, introduced a programme that began with a video message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Statements were then made by Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, president of the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, and Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations. The keynote “Remembrance and Beyond” address was given by Madame Simone Veil
Simone Veil
Simone Veil, DBE is a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France....

a Holocaust survivor, president of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah and a member of the Constitutional Council of France.

The observance focused on the importance of infusing today’s youth with the lessons of the Holocaust so that future generations may work to prevent hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice, and Marie Noel, a student at the College of Saint Elizabeth, shared her experiences visiting former concentration camps in Poland.

The memorial ceremony also focused on the disabled community as one of the many victim groups of the Nazi regime. Thomas Schindlmayr of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs highlighted the importance of education in promoting tolerance and ending discrimination against all minorities, particularly in light of the adoption by the General Assembly on 13 December 2006 of the landmark Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Additionally, a musical performance was given by HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Chamber Choir, a project of the Zamir Choral Foundation, founded and directed by Matthew Lazar. Netanel Hershtik, cantor of the New York Synagogue recited the Kaddish.

During the observance the United Nations Department of Public Information also launched a new website and resource for United Nations member states, educators and non-governmental organizations entitled “Electronic Notes for Speakers” developed for the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme by Yad Vashem — the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Remembrance Authority, Jerusalem, and the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education and the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris. The electronic notes provide survivor testimony and information materials that will equip speakers with the tools needed to conduct briefings on the Holocaust and lessons to be learned from it.

Daniel Mendelsohn discussed and signed copies of his latest book The Lost: A Search for Six of the Six Million. The United Nations bookstore also made available ten volumes of autobiographical accounts of Holocaust survivors published jointly by The Holocaust Survivors’ Memoirs Project and Yad Vashem — the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Remembrance Authority. An initiative of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust Survivors’ Memoirs Project has collected over 900 manuscripts. Its mission is to provide both the victims and the survivors of the Holocaust with the dignity of a permanent historical presence, not as impersonal statistics but as individuals with names, voices and emotions.

The Department of Public Information also marked the 2007 Holocaust Remembrance Week with two exhibits in the United Nations visitors’ lobby. The first, entitled “The Holocaust against the Sinti and Roma and Present Day Racism in Europe,” focused on the experience of the Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust. The second exhibit featured artwork, created by Holocaust survivors, exploring the meaning and experience of the Holocaust.

On 31 January 2007, a special screening of Volevo solo Vivere (I Only Wanted to Live), directed by Mimmo Calopresti
Mimmo Calopresti
Mimmo Calopresti is an Italian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor.He has directed 16 films since 1987. His film The Second Time was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival....

 took place. The film tells the moving story of nine Italian survivors of Auschwitz. The following day Nazvy svoie im'ia (Spell Your Name), directed by Serhiy Bukovsky, was also screened. The film, about the Holocaust in Ukraine, tells the story of local people who escaped brutal execution and those who rescued friends and neighbours during the Holocaust. Both films, produced by USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, were shown in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium. On 2 February 2007, the third discussion paper in the Holocaust and Genocide series was published: “Hitler, Pol Pot and Hutu Power: Distinguishing Themes of Genocidal Ideology”.

Sources: United Nations Press Releases for 2007 Holocaust Remembrance Week

Statements and other documents related to the 2007 Holocaust Observance Day

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In 2008

Throughout the week of 28 January 2008, the United Nations Department of Public Information organized a number of events around the world to remember the victims of the Holocaust and underscore the value of human life. This 2008 observance focused on the need to ensure the protection of human rights for all. It coincided with the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Holocaust Remembrance Day began with the joint launch of a new United Nations Holocaust Remembrance postage stamp issued simultaneously, for the first time, with a national stamp by the Israel Postal Company. The two stamps bear the same design.

On 28 January 2008, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the daughter of United States Congressman Tom Lantos, himself a Holocaust survivor, delivered a keynote address “Civic Responsibility and the Preservation of Democratic Values” at the memorial ceremony and concert held in the General Assembly Hall.

Other speakers included Srgjan Kerim (Macedonia), president of the sixty-second session of the General Assembly, Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, and Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.

The ceremony also featured a concert with the Tel Aviv University Buchmann-Mehta School of Music symphony orchestra in cooperation with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by maestro Zubin Mehta.

On 30 January 2008, the first permanent exhibit on the Holocaust and the United Nations was unveiled. Produced by the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Programme, it presents an overview of the Holocaust in the context of World War II and the founding of the United Nations. It is seen by the 400,000 visitors who visit the United Nations Headquarters annually. In preparation for the exhibit opening, Elizabeth Edelstein, Director of Education for the Museum of Jewish Heritage, briefed the United Nations tour guides on the history of the Holocaust to further their understanding of this watershed event.

Around the world United Nations offices organized events to mark the Day of Commemoration. In Brazil, an observance was held on 25 January with the president of the country, Jose Inacio Lula da Silva, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, César Maia. In Madagascar, a permanent exhibit on the Holocaust was unveiled at the United Nations Information Centre.

The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme also coordinated a video conference for students with the United Nations information centres in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and Lomé, Togo, and educators at the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris. At the United Nations office in Ukraine a round-table discussion was organized in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ukrainian Holocaust Study Centre. In Tokyo on 29 January, an educational workshop targeting young students focused on the links between the Holocaust and human rights issues.

Also, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum provided information material in English and Spanish to a number of United Nations information centers for use in their reference libraries.

To help carry out its educational mission, the Department of Public Information participated in a panel discussion with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the afternoon of 28 January to highlight the importance of Holocaust education, organized by B’nai B’rith International.

The Department of Public Information also marked Holocaust Remembrance Day with two exhibits in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby in New York on the attempts to save Jews from death by the Nazis during the Second World War. The first, entitled “BESA A Code of Honor: Muslim Albanians who Rescued Jews during the Holocaust” by photographer Norman Gershman, was authored and curated by Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Albania to the United Nations.

A second exhibit, “Carl Lutz and the Legendary Glass House in Budapest,” was co-sponsored by the Carl Lutz Foundation and the Permanent Missions of Switzerland and Hungary. Carl Lutz
Carl Lutz
Carl Lutz was the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary from 1942 until the end of World War II. He helped save tens of thousands of Jews from deportation to Nazi Extermination camps during the Holocaust. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews...

, the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, had issued certificates of emigration to place tens of thousands of Jews under Swiss protection.

Sources: press releases

2008 Commemoration

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Commemorations outside the United Nations on the International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust

At the USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) in Washington, DC

At Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....

, in Jerusalem, Israel http://www1.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/27_Jan/International_Holocaust_Remembrance_Day1.htm

See also

  • Besa (Albanian culture)
    Besa (Albanian culture)
    Besa is an Albanian cultural precept, usually translated as "faith", that means "to keep the promise" and "word of honor". The word's origin can be traced to the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, a collection of Albanian traditional customs and cultural practices. Besa is an important part of personal and...

  • Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust
    Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust
    The Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust is an annual 8-day period designated by the United States Congress for civic commemorations and special educational programs that help citizens remember and draw lessons from the Holocaust...

     (United States)
  • Holocaust Memorial Day
    Holocaust Memorial Day
    Holocaust Memorial Day or Holocaust Remembrance Day may refer to one of several commemorations of the Holocaust.-See also:* United Nations Holocaust Memorial* List of Holocaust memorials and museums...

  • Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
    Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
    Holocaust Memorial Day is a national event in the United Kingdom dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of The Holocaust. It was first held in January 2001 and has been on the same date every year since...

  • National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust
    National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust
    The National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust The National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust The National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Ziua Naţională de Comemorare a Holocaustului in Romanian, is a national event held on October 9 in Romania. It is dedicated to the remembrance of the...

     (Romania)
  • Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah , known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the...


  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...

  • United Nations Holocaust Memorial
  • Liberation (Holocaust memorial)
    Liberation (Holocaust memorial)
    Liberation is a bronze Holocaust memorial created by the sculptor Nathan Rapoport, located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. Officially dedicated on May 30, 1985, the monument portrays an American soldier, carrying the body of a Holocaust survivor out of a Nazi concentration...


External links

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