Holocaust Remembrance Day

holyland red

At 10:00 am Thursday a two-minute siren was heard across Israel, as people bowed their heads and stood in silence in memory of the six million Jews that perished in the Holocaust.

The siren marked the commencement of Holocaust Remembrance Day events throughout the country, with ceremonies at Yad Vashem, the Knesset and various educational institutions.

utdalltheway

it's nice you all take the time out to do this.

btw, that fecker should've taken his helmet off.

Frosty

Odd question but why the 1st May? Does it have any special significance?

Mihajlovic

I think it's a different day every year .

utdalltheway

it is for shoah!

Wittmann45

I know this isn't correct, but I guessed that maybe it had to do with the liberation of the last camp, and thus, the end of the Holocaust. I think the Mauthausen complex was the last liberated, but I don't know the date. It was in May, but probably not the 1st...

Fitzjames

Some things need to be remembered .....and right and proper that Israel does so. This kind of hatred must never be allowed to happen again

jasonrh

It makes me want to cry whenever I think about it.

To think there are hundreds of thousands of hate-filled maniacs out there who think it was all Hollywood special effects and want to make sure to do it for real this time.

I fear that the longer things go on as they are another holocaust or something akin to it (probably nuclear) is quite likely in our lifetimes.

I'm so sorry and ashamed as a human being that something such as this was perpetrated by other human beings.

holyland red

After the horrors of the Holocaust, Jews wanted a day to memorialize this tragedy. But what day? The Holocaust spanned years with suffering and death spread throughout these years of terror. No one day stood out as representative of this destruction.

So various days were suggested.

The tenth of Tevet was proffered. This day is Asarah B'Tevet and marks the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem. But this day holds no direct relation or tie to the Holocaust.
The Zionists in Israel, many of whom had fought in the ghettos or as partisans, wanted to commemorate the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising - April 19, 1943. But this date on the Hebrew calendar is the 15th of Nissan - the beginning of Passover, a very important and happy holiday. Orthodox Jews objected to this date.
For two years, the date was debated. Finally, in 1950, compromises and bargaining began. The 27th of Nissan was chosen, which falls beyond Passover but within the time span of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Orthodox Jews still did not like this date because it was a day of mourning within the traditionally happy month of Nissan. As a final effort to compromise, it was decided that if the 27th of Nissan would affect Shabbat (fall on Friday or Saturday), then it would be moved. If the 27th of Nissan falls on a Friday, Holocaust Remembrance Day is moved to the preceding Thursday. If the 27th of Nissan falls on a Sunday, then Holocaust Remembrance Day is moved to the following Monday.

On April 12, 1951, the Knesset (Israel's parliament) proclaimed Yom Hashoah U'Mered HaGetaot (Holocaust and Ghetto Revolt Remembrance Day) to be the 27th of Nissan. The name later became known as Yom Hashoah Ve Hagevurah (Devastation and Heroism Day) and even later simplified to Yom Hashoah.

heightmassive

I went to Auschwitz / Birkenau in February this year, it was totally overwhelming.