Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Every year, on January 27, Wellington joins millions across the United States and the world, to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and to honor the victims and the survivors of the Holocaust.

The purpose of this Day is to commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime and to promote Holocaust education throughout the world.

We join our Jewish community to pause and remember the six million Jewish lives, the survivors, and the countless others, children, women, and men, who were victims of the atrocities carried out by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. 

As we continue to develop our diversity, equity, & inclusion strategies to ensure that Wellington is an inclusive and fair place, it is more important than ever that the lessons learned and the horrors of the Holocaust remain present in the public consciousness so they are never repeated. 

Join the Conversation

Share your reflections about International Holocaust Remembrance Day on social media using #WeRemember.

Message from Rabbi Andrew Rosenkranz of Temple Beth Torah

Rabbi Andrew Rosenkranz from Temple Beth Torah shares an important message and reminds us to never forget the horrific crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Let us also refuse to tolerate hate, racism, or anti-semitism in our community and our Country. 

Wellington Landmarks will be illuminated yellow on January 27

The color yellow evokes the memorial candles lit in remembrance of all the victims of the Shoah (Holocaust), which is an integral part of Holocaust commemorations. 

What is the Holocaust?

What is the Holocaust? Who were its victims? When did it occur? What were the ghettos, and why were they established? How did the “Final Solution” evolve? Dr. David Silberklang offers a clear and concise introductory answer to these complex questions.

Dr. David Silberklang is Senior Historian and Editor of Yad Vashem Studies, International Institute for Holocaust Research, Yad Vashem.

Commemorative Virtual Events 

United Nations Chamber Music Society Virtual Concert
Thursday, January 27
FREE at 9 AM

The concert will be live-streamed through UN Web TV and YouTube.

The United Nations Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council will perform a virtual concert in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The classical music program will feature Jewish composers, to instill the memory of the tragedy in future generations to prevent genocide from occurring again. It will also feature special performances from musicians from Maestro Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. 

United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony
Thursday, January 27
FREE at 11 AM

The ceremony will be live-streamed worldwide through The United Nations Web TV.

Melissa Fleming, United Nations under-secretary-general for Global Communications, hosts this FREE virtual ceremony marking the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

The ceremony will include testimonies from Holocaust survivors from Canada, Israel, South Africa, and the United States, children and grandchildren of Holocaust and Romani survivors, as well as speakers from Japan, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

The memorial ceremony includes a musical performance and memorial prayers in several languages.

Memory, Family, and Survival
Thursday, January 27
FREE from 1-2 PM

This program will be streamed live on the New York Public Library event page.

The authors of two new memoirs share the stories of families that were irrevocably reshaped by the Holocaust in this FREE program sponsored by the NYPL.

In “The Letters Project: A Daughter’s Journey,” Tony-nominated actor and director Eleanor Reissa blends a sweeping history of the Holocaust with an intimate personal narrative about discovering family secrets buried in a secret trove of love letters.

In “Always Remember Your Name,” sisters Andra Bucci and Tatiana Bucci, who were imprisoned in Auschwitz as children, recount their story of survival and of the motherly love that reunited their family against impossible odds.

Both books demonstrate that even the families who had survived the Holocaust would never be free of it. 

The Bucci sisters, along with their translator Ann Goldstein, join Eleanor Reissa to speak with critic and biographer Ruth Franklin about the legacy of the Holocaust on the ties that bind families together and keep them apart. 

Briefing: Lest We Forget: Combating Holocaust Denial and Distortion
Thursday, January 27
FREE at 2 PM

Register for “Lest We Forget”

In this online briefing,  panelists consider measures that the United Nations, governments, and social media companies can take, as antisemitism continues to grow, to combat Holocaust denial and distortion, and how they can promote more effective Holocaust education and ensure that victims are never forgotten. 

This briefing is organized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

Makers of Memories: Holocaust Remembrance and the Creative Process
Thursday, January 27
FREE at 6 PM

Register here to receive the Zoom link, which will be emailed to registrants two days before the event, with reminder emails on the day of the event.

In recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Arnold Mittelman, president of the National Jewish Theater Foundation (NJTF), speaks with the artistic leader of the Manhattan Theatre Club, director Lynne Meadow, and Broadway star, actress and author Tovah Feldshuh, on the role of theater in Holocaust remembrance and how their creative process and Jewish heritage has informed their remarkable body of work. Renowned Broadway and off-Broadway award-winning producer Daryl Roth will provide introductory remarks.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration: A Son Remembers
Thursday, January 27
FREE at 6:30 PM

Register to attend this Virtual Event

Mr. Harry Rapaport, a distinguished member of the organization Next Generations, will share his family’s experience in a comprehensive lecture. Q&A to follow. Presented by the Palm Beach County Library System.

Shadows in the City of Light – Paris in Postwar French Jewish Writing
Thursday, January 27
FREE at 7 PM

RSVP: https://yorku.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V3iHQdv-R8uHxxZirMAIZA

The Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University is sponsoring the launch of the book, “Shadows in the City of Light: Paris in Postwar French Jewish Writing.” Between the two World Wars, Paris was a magnet for eastern European Jews fleeing oppression and attracted by it promise of equality. But these “foreign Jews” – immigrants and their children – were the most vulnerable during the Nazi occupation of Paris and the ensuing roundups and deportations. After World War II, the public conversation about the evils of World War II rarely acknowledged Jewish victimization. But urban space remembers.

Post-war Jewish writing – by both native Parisians and war refugees – walks their readers through the city’s streets and neighborhoods. In their writing, the cityscape itself bears witness to the absent Jews, and what happened to them.

Resources & Learning