In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated 27 January as the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, the day upon which every year the world would mark and remember the Holocaust and its victims. In 1945,  27 January was the day that the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp complex was liberated.

Holocaust Memorial Day or Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated worldwide by local, national and international events, that include conferences, film screenings, memorial services, exhibitions, discussions, book publications and more.

The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure thrives on the dedication and commitment of its 27 partners. Most EHRI partners also organise events on or around 27 January to commemorate the Holocaust, to learn and to never forget. A selection of these events taking place in many different counrties is presented here below.

Kazerne Dossin, Belgium

On the 27th of January Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen will launch the results of the research project Left Behind with a video, three digital maps and a special section on the website (see also the EHRI Blog). On this day, the memorial and museum will also give all visitors a button that they attach. The same image (see right) will be spread on social media, and people can add this image on their profile photo.

In the evening Kazerne Dossin organises a silent film with live music in Antwerp, together with Vredescentrum. City without Jews (1924) is a film that promoted the expulsion of Jews for the first time. For a long time, it was thought that this version was lost. An accidental discovery at a French market proved otherwise. Watching this film reminds us of tragic times, which above all should never be repeated. The projection is accompanied live by a 16-piece orchestra, L’Heure de musique, conducted by Léonard Ganvert.

Foundation Jewish Contemporary Documentation Center CDEC, Italy

On the occasion of January 27 2022, Fondazione CDEC together with the Giuseppe Venezze Music Conservatory of Rovigo, will publish a digital exhibition dedicated to musicians in the Ferramonti camp:  In a remote space. Music and musicians in the Ferramonti camp (1940-1943). The exhibition is curated by Laura Brazzo (Fondazione CDEC) and Raffaele Deluca (Conservatorio of Rovigo).

Through the images and documents preserved in the archives of Fondazione CDEC and thanks to the research of Raffaele Deluca, the exhibition brings to light the events, images and works of musicians who, confined in the Ferramonti camp, found the strength and enthusiasm to continue to play, compose and even organize concerts.

Yad Vashem, Israel

To mark the UN-sanctioned International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, is launching two unique online events that give the public around the world the opportunity to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered by the German Nazis and their collaborators.

IRemember Wall

Yad Vashem’s unique online commemorative project, IRemember Wall, allows, individuals who register to be randomly linked to one of the names found in Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names, which today includes the names of over 4,800,000 Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The participants' names then appear on the IRemember Wall together with the name of the victim of the Holocaust. The user can also choose a specific name of a family members or anyone else they know in the Names Database with whom they wish to be matched.

New Online Exhibition: "Remember Your New Name"

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem has launched a new online exhibition entitled Remember Your New Name: Surviving the Holocaust Under a False Identity.

Educational Materials

Marking 77 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, new educational materials have been uploaded to the Yad Vashem website. Though aimed at educators, these materials can be of interest to anyone interested in the history of the Holocaust. You are welcome to explore these resources by clicking on this webpage.

Social Media

Yad Vashem and the Claims Conference mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day by launching a new innovative social media campaign: #DONTBEABYSTANDER

Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI), Austria

On 27 January, VWI goes to Haus der Geschichte Österreich in Vienna for a lecture by Ari Joskowicz: Getrennte Erfahrung, geteilte Erinnerung: Eine Beziehungsgeschichte von Jüdinnen/Juden und Romnija/Roma von der NS-Zeit bis heute. This event is in German.

Before the 1930s, Jews and Romnija/Roma had few close contacts almost everywhere in Europe. Nevertheless, they found themselves side by side as victims of Nazi annihilation policies, witnessed the persecution and murder of the other group and had similar historical-political demands after 1945. The result is a history of distant entanglements that this lecture traces. He analyses the development of the separate but similar experience that begins in ghettos like Lodz and Warsaw or in camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the war, survivors of both groups found themselves increasingly connected through archive politics. Jewish institutions, historians and lawyers were involved earlier than others in the production of knowledge and in publicizing the Roma Holocaust. Nevertheless, the relationship remained unequal for a long time: almost everywhere that Roma/Romnija had campaigned for commemorative plaques, monuments, research centres and archives about their past, there was already a Jewish counterpart. Ultimately, Jewish archives also became the central repository of Romani eyewitness accounts.

You can also follow this event on a livestream.

Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania

The Memory of the Holocaust – Movie Screening

January, 27-29, 2022, Cinema Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Bucharest

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Romania will be commemorated by EHRI’s partner in Bucharest,  the “Elie Wiesel” Institute, through a cultural programme: The Memory of the Holocaust – Film Festival. The event will take place January 27-29. It is in its fourth edition. It addresses the general public, students and teachers, and encourages them to (re)discover the history of the Holocaust in Europe and Romania through alternative methods. During the three days of screening, international artistic movies and documentaries will present snippets of the history of the Holocaust in Europe and the tragedy of the Romanian Jews during the Iasi Pogrom. It will also bring into discussion topics of interest such as Holocaust denial, the role of Holocaust remembrance, and the dilemma between pursuing justice/forgiving/taking revenge.

Masaryk Institute and the Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences

On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Masaryk Institute and the Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences will publish a new web application MemoGIS Prague to study the spatial exclusion of Jews in Nazi-occupied Prague. 

Read more about this initiative in a separate article.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

2022 International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration. January 27, 0:00 am CET (midnight)

Eighty years since the Holocaust began, violent antisemitism remains a threat. The lessons of this history have never been more relevant and will be the focus of this solemn event. You can join the US Holocaust Memorial Museum as survivors reflect on and honour the lives of Europe’s Jews, other victims of Nazi persecution, and individuals who chose to help. You can find more info and watch the ceremony here. 

The Difference between Life and Death: Choices That Saved a Young Boy, January 27, 3.30 pm CET

From the moment he was born in 1942 in Slovakia, Arye Ephrath was in danger. Join a live conversation and Q&A to learn how individuals sacrificed to help him survive the Holocaust.

Other:

European Commission

President von der Leyen and Vice-President Schinas join Holocaust commemoration

On 26 January 2022, the European Commission joins the French Presidency, the European Jewish Congress and the Jewish community of France (CRIF) in commemorating the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will give the opening speech alongside President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

The interventions will be followed by an interview with Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas.

The ceremony will be livestreamed on 26 January 2022 at 4 PM CET.

First image on this page by Yad Vashem