Virtual commemorations mark Holocaust Memorial Day

By Rachel Vick

Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, is a day of remembrance, where people around the world gather to honor the six million people, mostly European Jews, murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. This year’s ceremonies have been complicated by the coronavirus, but organizations and leaders have stepped up to host virtual remembrances 75 years after concentration camps were liberated.

The National Museum of American Jewish History is sharing  “The Evidence Room,” a virtual tour of the exhibit scheduled to open at the Philadelphia museum after quarantine is lifted. People throughout the world can check in on the museum via the remote tour.

Museum reconstructed some of the architectural elements of Auschwitz using plaster casts created through blueprints and recollections. The visual structures spoil the Nazis’ efforts to erase evidence of the death camps. 

Yom Hashoah began on Monday night, a date that marks the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943. Organizations across the world, including NMAJH, streamed services.

The virtual presentation from the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Place was uploaded on April 19, honoring the memory of those who died and those who survived.

This year’s theme from Yad Vashem is “Rescue by Jews during the Holocaust: Solidarity in a Disintegrating World,” which highlights the value of  selflessness and togetherness in the face of uncertainty.

The center launched an international name-reading campaign, inviting people to recite, remember and share the information of those who were killed. The database includes the names, hometown, and place, age and date of death for all victims where available.