January 28, 2025

Yesterday was January 27. In 2005, the United Nations established UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and they chose that day because that was the day, back in 1945, when Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. Yesterday marked the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of that death camp. In this location, so many of our ancestors and family perished at the hands of those who hated Jews, along with others, that they deemed “unfit” or “unworthy.”

For the last several years, we chose to hold our Every Person Has a Name community Holocaust commemoration and vigil as close to January 27 as possible as a way for our community to remember, reflect, and draw awareness to the atrocities that took place in Europe, back in the 30s and 40s. Although our Jewish Federation decided to postpone this year’s event due to the fire, I’m excited to share that we have rescheduled this year’s Every Person Has a Name for Saturday, March 22, at 7:00 pm through Sunday, March 23, at 8:00 pm. This year’s rescheduled date holds significant meaning as well because it was on March 22, 1933, that the Dachau concentration camp opened.

Even after all of the studying and learning I have done about the Holocaust, as well as being a teen docent for the East Bay Holocaust Education Center while I was in high school, I am still, to this day, in utter shock that the events that transpired only 80+ years ago actually happened…. that people felt it was OK to do what they did. Or that they didn’t refuse to do so and/or turned a blind eye to what was happening out of fear for their own safety and well-being. While I understand that self-preservation is a critical aspect of life, there has to be a point when one decides to stand up for what they believe and choose to do everything within their power to put a stop to the evil that transpires.

Over the last several days, I’ve appreciated seeing the numerous newspaper stories (including in today’s Pasadena Star-News), TV coverage of the commemoration ceremonies, and individual stories that have been told. As we all sadly know, it will only be a few more years before those who witnessed the horrors and atrocities of the Holocaust will be with us to share their first-hand accounts. And even with all of the efforts that are being made to share and memorialize these stories, I am scared that there will be a rise of holocaust denialism shortly after the last survivor passes away.

That is why it is up to each of us to do our part by not only keeping the memory alive of those who experienced it and continue to tell their stories. By doing so, we ensure that this history, as painful as it is, continues to be passed down from generation to generation. And it serves as a reminder of what can happen when hate is allowed to go unchecked.

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