International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2013
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2013
In 2005,the UN General Assembly designated January 27 - the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau - as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Ambassador Daniel Shapiro Commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day
On January 25, 2013, Ambassador Daniel Shapiro participated in a commemoration ceremony organized by the Massuah International Institute for Holocaust Studies in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Ambassador Shapiro joined members of the diplomatic corps in honoring the memory of holocaust victims by placing white roses on six stones representing the six million holocaust victims.
Honoring Holocaust Survivors
In honor of the UN-mandated International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, we celebrate two survivors who endured, triumphed, and now bear witness: Uri Chanoch, aged 13 when his childhood ended – seehttp://goo.gl/zoECL (Credit Yad Vashem) and Havka Folman-Raban, aged 17 when she joined the Warsaw Ghetto resistance – see http://goo.gl/PzfL8(Credit Ghetto Fighters Museum).
Uri Chanoch was 13 when, forced to move with his family into the Kovno ghetto, he was recruited into the underground movement in order to steal vital work permits. He was severely beaten by the Germans for refusing to divulge the hiding place of his younger brother and, with the liquidation of the ghetto in July 1944, Uri and his family were deported to Germany. Losing his mother, father and sister in the Holocaust, Uri survived Dachau and Auschwitz. Liberated by U.S. troops, Uri was later reunited with his brother Dani, immigrated to Israel in 1946, later becoming an officer in the IDF. He was an active industrialist and is engaged in public service http://goo.gl/zoECL (credit to Yad Vashem).
Havka Folman Raban aged only 15 was only 15 years old when she served as a courier between the different branches of the Jewish Fighting Force (JFO) in the Warsaw Ghetto and throughout occupied Poland. She was involved in the assassination of SS officers in Krakow, was caught by the Gestapo, and sent to Auschwitz. After the war, Havka immigrated to Israel, worked for many years in education and today, continues to tell her story to youngsters throughout Israel and abroad, imparting the lessons of the Holocaust, and bearing witness to the possibility of resistance under impossible conditions and the importance of the preservation of human dignity.
http://goo.gl/PzfL8 (credit to Ghetto Fighters Museum)
Statement by the President
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Statement by the President on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we honor the memories of the 6 million Jews and millions of other innocent victims whose lives were tragically taken during the Holocaust over sixty years ago. Those who experienced the horrors of the cattle cars, ghettos, and concentration camps have witnessed humanity at its very worst and know too well the pain of losing loved ones to senseless violence.
But while this is a time for mourning and reflection, it is also the time for action. On this day, we recall the courage, spirit, and determination of those who heroically resisted the Nazis, exemplifying the very best of humanity. And like these courageous individuals, we must commit ourselves to resisting hate and persecution in all its forms. The United States, along with the international community, resolves to stand in the way of any tyrant or dictator who commits crimes against humanity, and stay true to the principle of “Never Again.”
By remaining vigilant against those who seek to perpetrate violence and murder, we honor those we lost during one of the darkest periods in human history. And we keep their memory alive for generations to come.