Holocaust Remembrance Week begins today, Council declares

Holocaust Memorial Park is located in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Photo via NYC Parks.

By Rachel Vick

The City Council Committee on Civil and Human Rights unanimously voted Wednesday in favor of a resolution committing the week of January 27 to Holocaust Education in schools city-wide.

The measure was sponsored by Councilmembers Chaim Deutsch, Ben Kallos and Carlina Rivera, as well as Public Advocate Jumanae Williams.

The resolution addresses the widespread persecution of the Nazi regime and aims to “foster empathy between city residents, beginning with the children themselves, through the learning of this important historical event and the impacts it has had on the present-day world.”

 "If we do not learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it,” said Councilmember Barry Grodenchik. “With the resurgence of anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes over the past three years, the recognition of international Holocaust Remembrance Day provides an opportunity to educate students about the dangers of bigotry, giving them insight into what can happen when we do not value the lives of those different from ourselves.”

The proclamation also dedicates Jan. 27 as the city’s official Holocaust Remembrance Day in solidarity with the International Day of Commemeration designated by the United Nations General Assembly.