(5772) April 29, 2012

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, occurs on 27 Nisan (in March or April). Yom HaShoah is a one-day holiday that celebrates the remembrance of the Shoah during the 1930s and 1940s. It is celebrated by special prayers, reading the names of those who perished, and visiting museums and other places of remembrance. Each family and community has its own way of remembering those who perished in this genocide as well as those who survived.

On the eve of Yom HaShoah in Israel, there is a state ceremony at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes Authority. At 10:00 am on Yom HaShoah, throughout Israel, air-raid sirens are sounded for two minutes. During this time, people stop what they are doing and stand at attention; cars stop, even on the highways; and the whole country comes to a standstill as people pay silent tribute to the dead. On the eve of Yom HaShoah and the day itself, places of public entertainment are closed by law. Israeli television airs Holocaust documentaries and Holocaust-related talk shows, and low-key songs are played on the radio. Flags on public buildings are flown at half staff.^[1]

Also during this day, tens of thousands of Israeli high-school students, and thousands of Jews from around the world, hold a memorial service in Auschwitz, in what has become known as "The March of the Living," in defiance of the Holocaust Death Marches. This event is endorsed and subsidized by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Holocaust Claims Conference, and is considered an important part of the school curriculum – a culmination of several months of studies on World War II and the Holocaust.^[1]

Additional Information: Yom HaShoah :: Holocaust Rememberance Day :: Yom HaShoah :: Yom HaShoah

^[1]"Yom HaShoah." wikipedia.org Wikipedia, n.d.

Home :: Contact :: About :: Site Index

© becomingjewish.org 2003-2012 -   
Page Updated: 03/07/10