HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAYS

The Holocaust was a crime against humanity so horrendous that the community of nations vowed to never forget, lest such atrocities happen again. The United Nations designated January 27 – the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to honor the lives and memory of the six million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.

The U.S. Congress established the U.S. Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration to reaffirm our commitment to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. The Days of Remembrance run from the Sunday before Holocaust Remembrance Day (known as Yom HaShoah) through the following Sunday.  Since Yom HaShoah is defined by a Hebrew date (27 Nisan, generally in April or May) and that falls on a different English date each year, the timing of the U.S. Days of Remembrance changes.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) hosts an annual event in Washington, D.C., which is live-streamed and open to the public. The annual U.S. Federal Interagency Holocaust Remembrance Day program – coordinated by 25 governmental agencies and designed to educate federal employees on the Holocaust – is also live-streamed.

Films for American Spaces

To confront rising Holocaust distortion, the U.S. Department of State partnered with American filmmakers to provide excerpts, educational materials, and films to U.S. embassies, American Spaces, and their trusted partners around the world for use in programming for the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27) and the U.S. Days of Holocaust Remembrance (generally held in April/May). The films include Ken Burns’ three-part documentary series The U.S. and the Holocaust, available on Kanopy with public performance rights. A curated toolkit includes a discussion guide and educator guide.

The USHMM Behind Every Name animated short films explore the challenges Jews faced in escaping Nazi persecution and the Americans who tried to help. USHMM has granted American Spaces permission to screen these films. Other films focused on American actions during the Holocaust include the The Ritchie Boys and Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War, available on Kanopy with public performance rights.

Fifteen short videos from USHMM cover a variety of topics related to the Holocaust. USHMM has granted American Spaces permission to screen these films.

Additional short videos on USHMM’s YouTube channel share the first-person stories of American liberators as well as Holocaust survivors, including the Indescribable Horror: When Eisenhower Witnessed the Holocaust and These American Veterans Never Forgot the Horrors of Dachau. USHMM has granted American Spaces permission to screen these films.

#ProtectTheFacts Campaign

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), of which the United States is a founding member, supports the #ProtectTheFacts global campaign. Over 80 years after the end of the Second World War, Holocaust memory is under threat. As Holocaust distortion benefits from a general lack of awareness, American Spaces can help spread the message about this urgent problem and encourage others to #ProtectTheFacts. The site has shareable social media, videos, and information about the Holocaust.

Defining Antisemitism

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non- Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

IHRA Plenary in Budapest 2015