|
Yom Hashoah, the day commemorating the victims of the Holocaust is marked according to the Hebrew calendar on the 27th day of Nisan. This year that date falls on Thursday, April 19, 2012. In the United States it is common to hold remembrances and observances during a Week of Remembrance that runs from the Sunday before through the Sunday after the actual date. (The United States Congress established the Days of Remembrance as our nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to the victims.)
Rituals associated with Yom Hashoah vary widely and range from synagogue services to communal vigils and educational programs. While there are religious aspects to the day, it is not a religious observance as such. In Israel, the sound of a siren stops traffic and pedestrians throughout the country for two minutes of silent devotion. The siren blows at sundown and once again at 11:00 A.M. on this date. On the eve of Yom Hashoah and the day itself, places of public entertainment are closed by law. Israeli television and radio airs Holocaust-related programming. Even the musical programs are adapted to the atmosphere of Yom Hashoah as low-key Hebrew and Yiddish songs are played.
As an organization devoted to keeping the memory and the lessons of the Holocaust alive through education and outreach, the Anti-Defamation League annually organizes and participates in many events commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day across the country and in Israel.
Featured Educational Resources: Teaching About the Holocaust
A leader in Holocaust education, ADL offers the following materials, programs and resources designed to help young people to learn more about the Holocaust, and to understand why the message of “Never Again” continues to hold resonance and meaning in today’s world.
|
|
|
|
|
