Against the background of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is being observed largely online this year, with a wide range of events and online exhibitions taking place on Wednesday to mark the date.
Events are being staged by the UN, the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the European Union, and other international organizations to observe the day, designated on January 27 as the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.
UNESCO, the UN, and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance will be holding an online event on Wednesday afternoon in honor of the victims of the Holocaust, at which German Chancellor Angela Merkel will give the keynote address at a joint commemoration ceremony.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry, together with the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic will hold an online event with President Reuven Rivlin, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and their Czech counterparts.
Yad Vashem is hosting a new, online virtual guided tour of the permanent exhibition “Shoah” at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, which will take visitors through the Jewish Pavilion, known as Block 27 in Auschwitz I. The tour will also explore the central themes of the Holocaust and offer “insights into the rich Jewish life that existed prior to 1939 and the world of children during the Shoah.”
Yad Vashem has also created a subsection of its website featuring online exhibitions, educational resources, and the unique “I remember Wall.”
EJC president remarked that: “We have a responsibility to prevent the spread of hate speech and conspiracy theories, and I am pleased that the European Union and member states are finally addressing this new threat by recognizing that antisemitism needs to be fought across all policy areas.”
