Holocaust Remembrance Day: Palo Alto community recognizes tragedy of genocide

The Holocaust is one of the most tragic and horrific events in modern history, and the impact of the brutal genocide still has lasting and profound effects on survivors and their families. Jan. 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, is known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day to remember and honor the memory of the 6 million Jews who suffered and lost their...

The Holocaust was a systematic extermination of 6 million Jews and other minority groups by the Nazi regime during World War II. The persecution started in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. The genocide was committed through a network of concentration camps, death camps and ghettos. Jews—as well as other groups such as LGBTQ+ people, Romani people, people with disabilities and political...

Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as a day for people to remember the victims of the Holocaust and to educate themselves about its history. In Palo Alto, the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center (OFJCC) hosts community events to observe the day, which feature stories told by descendants of Holocaust survivors. OFJCC Director of Jewish Content Tova Birnbaum notes that for many Jewish people, remnants...