Never Forget: Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed annually on the 27 of the Jewish month of Nisan. Observance of the day is moved to the Thursday before, if Nisan 27 falls on a Friday, or a day forward, if 27 Nisan falls on a Sunday (to avoid conflict with Jewish Sabbath observance).

Above: A man holds an Israeli national flag as he stands still during the sounding of a two-minute siren marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in Jerusalem, April 16, 2015.

The original proposal was to hold Yom HaShoah on the 14th of Nisan, the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising (April 19, 1943), but this was problematic because the 14th of Nisan is the day immediately after Passover. The date finally was moved to the 27th of Nisan.

Above: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath during a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, in Jerusalem, April 16, 2015.

Although the date was established by the Israeli government, it became a day commemorated by Jewish communities and individuals around the world.

Above: Dov Landau, an 88-year-old Auschwitz survivor, shows his prisoner uniform to people during an informal gathering commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day in Tel Aviv April 15, 2015.

The day’s official name – Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day – was made formal in a law enacted by the Knesset on August 19, 1953. On March 4, 1959, the parliament passed another law which determined that tribute to victims of Holocaust and ghetto uprisings be paid in public observances.

Above: An Israeli man looks at a train wagon used in Nazi Germany to transport Jews to concentration camps, on April 15, 2015, in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, ahead of the Holocaust Day marking the 70th anniversary since the liberation of the Nazi death camps.

The uprising at the Warsaw ghetto became a symbol of the Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. On April 19, 1943, Nazi German forces began to destroy the ghetto and to exterminate its residents using artillery fire and armored vehicles. For five weeks, defenders of the ghetto maintained resistance against enemy forces. On May 16, 1943, the destruction of the ghetto finished.

Above: Students from Germany visit the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem April 14, 2015.

Yom HaShoah opens in Israel at sundown in a state ceremony held in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Authority, in Jerusalem.

Above: Israeli soldiers from the Givati brigade stand near a monument to Mordechai Anielewicz, leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as a two-minute siren marking Holocaust Remembrance Day is sounded at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, near the border with Gaza April 16, 2015.

On Yom HaShoah, ceremonies and services are held at schools, military bases and by other public and community organizations.

Above: Holocaust survivors light six torches in memory of the victims during a ceremony marking the Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 15, 2015 at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

On the eve of Yom HaShoah and the day itself, places of public entertainment are closed. Flags on public buildings are held at half-mast.

Above: Motorists stand still beside vehicles as a two-minute siren marking Holocaust Remembrance Day is sounded in Jerusalem, April 16, 2015.

At 10:00 a.m., an air raid siren sounds throughout Israel and Israelis are expected to observe a minute of solemn reflection. Many people stop what they are doing, motorists stop their cars on the road and stands beside them in silence.

Above: Israeli high school students look at a model of the Warsaw Ghetto at the museum "From Holocaust to Revival" during Holocaust Remembrance Day, in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, Israel, April 16, 2015.

On Yom HaShoah, in some synagogues a special service is held. Traditionally, six candles are lit in commemoration of six million Jews perished during the Holocaust and a commemorative prayer is said.

Above: Holocaust survivors and their relatives lay a wreath next to the names of concentration camps during a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, in Jerusalem, April 16, 2015.

As an ideology and political program, anti-Semitism in Germany can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century. Gradually, it gained popularity in political parties and became a weapon in political and propaganda struggle. After Germany lost World War I, anti-Semitism received a fresh impetus. It became a nation-wide phenomenon after the National Socialist party seized power.

Above: Israelis stand as a siren is heard during a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, in Jerusalem, April 16, 2015.

In 1935, the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws were introduced, declaring that only those of German or related blood were eligible to be Reich citizens. A network of concentration camps was established starting in 1933 and ghettos were established following the outbreak of World War II in 1939. In 1938, pogroms (a series of deadly attacks) against German Jews began. In November 1938 during Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) hundreds of synagogues were burned down and more than 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps.

Above: Visitors stand in Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem, April 14, 2015.

In January 1942, the Nazis rolled out the "Final Solution to the Jewish question" plan. Camps dedicated solely to the extermination of Jews had been created before, but the policy was formulated at the Wannsee Conference in January 1942.

Above: A visitor walks past a photograph of Adolf Hitler displayed at Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem, April 14, 2015.

The plan culminated in the Shoah ("catastrophe" in Hebrew) or Holocaust, in which approximately six million Jews were killed by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

Above: A beach-goer stands still as a two-minute siren marking Holocaust Remembrance Day is sounded in Tel Aviv, April 16, 2015.