A Holocaust memorial day or Holocaust remembrance day is an annual observance to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, the genocide of six million Jews and of millions of other Holocaust victims by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. Many countries, primarily in Europe, have designated national dates of commemoration. In 2005, the United Nations instituted an international observance, International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Many observances fall on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945, while other countries selected separate dates, often to mark anniversaries of national events during the Holocaust. Holocaust remembrance days often include efforts to combat hatred and antisemitism.

List of observances

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Country Day Name Notes
United Nations 27 January International Holocaust Remembrance Day Designated by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 on 1 November 2005.[1]
Azerbaijan 27 January Day of the Tragedy and Heroism of the Jews
Australia 27 January[2] International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Austria 5 May Memorial Day against Violence and Racism in Memory on the Victims of National Socialism
German: Gedenktag gegen Gewalt und Rassismus im Gedenken an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus
The day that the concentration camp Mauthausen was liberated in 1945.
Belgium 27 January International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
French: Journée internationale de la commémoration en mémoire des victims de la Shoah
Bosnia and Herzegovina 27 January International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Bulgaria 10 March Holocaust Remembrance Day and the "Day of the Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews and of the Victims of the Holocaust and of the Crimes against Humanity" The day of the revocation of the plan to expel the country's Jewish population, officially designated in 2003.[3]
Canada - Alberta, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia 27 Nisan (April/May) The Canadian provinces of Alberta,[4] Manitoba,[5] and Nova Scotia[6] enacted legislation to recognize Holocaust Memorial Day in 2000.[7] Note: Other provinces of Canada have made the same enactment so the Canadian entry needs a full updating[citation needed]
Croatia 27 January Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and for the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity
Czech Republic 27 January Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity
Czech: Den památky obětí holocaustu a předcházení zločinu proti lidskosti
Denmark 27 January Auschwitz Day of Holocaust and Genocide Remembrance
Estonia 27 January[8] Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holokausti mälestuspäev

Finland 27 January Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Vainojen uhrien muistopäivä)
France 16 July Anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup
French: Anniversaire de la rafle du Vélodrome d'hiver.
Remembrance marking the mass arrest of 13,152 Jews in Paris in 1942 and their extermination at Auschwitz.
Germany 27 January Memorial Day for the Victims of National Socialism German: Tag des Gedenkens an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus
Greece 27 January National Holocaust Memorial Day
Greek: Εθνική Ημέρα Μνήμης Ολοκαυτώματος (Ethniki Imera Mnimis Olokaftomatos)
Since 2004.[9]
Hungary 16 April Holocaust Memorial Day Since 2001.[10]
Ireland Sunday closest to 27 January National Holocaust Memorial Day

Irish: An Lá Idirnáisiúnta Cuimhneacháin ar íospartaigh an Uileloiscthe

Israel (and many Jewish communities in other countries) 27 Nisan (April/May) Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Day), or Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laGvura (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day) Both an Israeli day of remembrance and a day of remembrance observed by many Jewish communities in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

The date relates both to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising which began 13 days earlier on the first night of Passover 1943, and to the Israeli Independence Day which is eight days later.[11]

Italy 27 January Memorial Day Italian: Giorno della Memoria
Latvia 4 July Commemoration Day of the Victims of the Genocide Against the Jewish People

Ebreju tautas genocīda upuru piemiņas diena

Burning of the Great Choral Synagogue in Riga in 1941.[12]
Lithuania 23 September Day of the Genocide of Lithuania's Jews
Lietuvos žydų genocido diena
Anniversary of the liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto in 1943.
Luxembourg 27 January Holocaust Memorial Day
Netherlands last Sunday of January National Holocaust Remembrance Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945.
North Macedonia 27 January
Norway 27 January Holocaust Memorial Day
Poland 27 January International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.[13]
Portugal 27 January Holocaust Remembrance Day
Romania 9 October National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust
Romanian: Ziua Naţională de Comemorare a Holocaustului
Serbia 22 April Holocaust Remembrance Day
Dan sećanja na žrtve holokausta
Slovakia 9 September Holocaust Victims and Racial Hatred Day On 9 September 1941, Slovakia passed anti-Jewish laws based on the Nuremberg laws.[14]
Slovenia 27 January National Holocaust Remembrance Day
Spain 27 January Day for Holocaust Remembrance and for the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity
Día Oficial de la Memoria del Holocausto y la Prevención de los Crímenes contra la Humanidad
Sweden 27 January Holocaust Remembrance Day
Förintelsens minnesdag
A national remembrance day every year since 1999.
Switzerland 27 January International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Taiwan (Republic of China) 27 January
25 February
Holocaust Memorial Day (大屠殺陣亡將士紀念日)
(Dà túshā zhènwáng jiàngshì jìniàn rì)
In addition to the European events, the ROC/Taiwan also honors the victims of the February 28 incident.[15]
Ukraine 27 January Holocaust Memorial Day Since 2020.[16]
United Kingdom 27 January Holocaust Memorial Day First held in January 2001 and on the same date every year since.
United States 8-day period, from the Sunday before Yom Hashoah to the Sunday after Yom Hashoah Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust (DRVH) Established by Congress in 1979 as the period for remembrance programs and ceremonies.

As of 2004, twelve countries observed January 27, the day of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, including Germany, Britain, Italy and Scandinavian countries. In 2003 France designated this date as the day of remembrance of genocides and prevention of crimes against humanity.[17] In 2004 Israel designated this date as a mark of the struggle against antisemitism.

As of 2004, eleven countries in Europe had chosen dates related to local histories.

Commemorations and memorials

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  • In January 2020, a ceremony was held at Auschwitz to mark the 75th anniversary of its liberation on January 27, 1945.[18] this included speeches by numerous officials and Jewish communal leaders. Large number of Holocaust survivors attended this ceremony.[19][20] In the United Kingdom, government officials, religious leaders and community leaders gathered in London to commemorate this anniversary.[21] On the same date, German police reported they were investigating the sales of a brand of beer with Nazi-style symbols on its labeling.[22]
  • In 2021 a number of Jewish organizations in the United Kingdom incorporated the situation in Xinjiang into their Holocaust Memorial Day remembrances and commemorations.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Holocaust remembrance at www.UN.org.
  2. ^ Australia marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day
  3. ^ Bulgaria marks its Holocaust Remembrance day, The Sofia Echo, March 10, 2011 (retrieved October 10, 2013)
  4. ^ Documents: Acts at www.qp.Alberta.ca
  5. ^ Documents: Acts
  6. ^ "Holocaust Memorial Day Act". nslegislature.ca. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  7. ^ Laws: Statutes Archived 4 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine at web2.Gov. MB.ca
  8. ^ "January 27 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day | Ministry of Foreign Affairs". vm.ee. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  9. ^ Anazitisi: Nomothetiko at www.HellenicParliament.gr
  10. ^ Megemlékezés a holokauszt magyarországi áldozatairól - April 16, 2020 - Magyar Nemzet, MTI
  11. ^ "Remembrance Day Calendar". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Latvia remembers victims of Holocaust". eng.lsm.lv. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  13. ^ ODIHR. "Obchody Dnia Pamieci o Holokauscie" (PDF). Yad Vashem. Archived from the original (PDF file, direct download 5.14 MB) on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  14. ^ "Slovakia commemorated Holocaust Victims and Racial Hatred Day". spectator.sme.sk. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Holocaust memorial event held in Taipei to call for awareness of genocide, and respect for human rights | Taiwan News | 2018-02-25 16:22:00". 25 February 2018.
  16. ^ For First Time, Ukrainian Parliament Marks int'l Holocaust Remembrance Day
  17. ^ "27 janvier : journée de la mémoire des génocides et de la prévention des crimes contre l'humanité". Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de la Jeunesse (in French). Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  18. ^ Auschwitz: How death camp became centre of Nazi Holocaust, BBC, JAn 23, 2020.
  19. ^ Auschwitz 75 years on: Holocaust Day prompts new anti-Semitism warnings. Holocaust survivors and international leaders are honouring victims of the Nazis at the former Auschwitz death camp, amid calls to fight resurgent anti-Semitism. The presidents of Israel and Poland - Reuven Rivlin and Andrzej Duda - laid wreaths together, 75 years after Soviet troops liberated the camp. BBC, January 27, 2020.
  20. ^ Auschwitz 75th anniversary ceremony. Events are being held to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. BBC, Jan 27, 2020.
  21. ^ Leaders and royals gather for UK Holocaust Memorial Day event. Senior royals, faith and political leaders are gathering in Westminster to commemorate International Holocaust Memorial Day.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are joining Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the event, which comes 75 years after Auschwitz was liberated. The duke will give a reading and the couple will speak to survivors of the Holocaust and more recent genocides. BBC, Jan 27, 2020.
  22. ^ German police probe Nazi-style beer brand, BBC, Jan 27, 2020.
  23. ^ Child, David. "Holocaust Memorial Day: Jewish figures condemn Uighur persecution". www.aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

Further reading

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