Holocaust Remembrance Day Facts
Holocaust Remembrance Day Facts
|
| Interesting Holocaust Remembrance Day Facts: |
|---|
| The Holocaust began in 1933 in Germany, when Adolf Hitler came to power. It continued until 1945 when the Allied Forces defeated the Nazis. In that time millions of people, mostly of Jewish heritage, were murdered. |
| Exclusion from public life in Germany for Jewish people began in 1935 with the issuance of the Nuremberg Laws. |
| In 1938 the Evian Conference was held in France, at the suggestion of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to deal with the increasing number of Jewish refugees trying to escape the Nazis. The conference lasted for eight days, and representatives from 32 countries attended. The Jewish people awaited the results of the conference, believing that the world would help them. The majority of other countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and many more, refused to increase their quota for Jewish immigrants, sealing their fate. Only the Dominican Republic offered to accept a large number of refugees. |
| Once World War II began, all Jews in Germany and countries occupied by Germany were forced to wear a yellow Star of David. This made it easy for the Nazis to target them. |
| During the Holocaust Jews were forced to live in ghettos, and from there sent to concentration camps or death camps. 2/3rds of the Jewish population in Europe during World War II were murdered by the Nazis. Of those, 1.1 million were children. |
| Holocaust Remembrance Day was established as part of the General Assembly Resolution 60/7, which urges every United Nations member state to honor the Holocaust victims. It also encourages developing educational programs to prevent future genocides, and rejects any denial that the Holocaust occurred. |
| The first Holocaust Remembrance Day was established in Israel by the Knesset in 1959. It was called Yom Hashoah, and is celebrated with prayer, candlelight memorials, songs, and with speeches, sometimes by survivors of the Holocaust themselves. |
| On Holocaust Remembrance Day in the United States, commemorations are held in Washington, DC at the United States Memorial Museum. In Jerusalem, Israel, the commemorations are held at Yad Vashem, and in Austria they are held at the Heldenplatz, Vienna. |
| Various ways that people around the world commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day include attending a memorial service for the victims, donating to a charity that supports survivors, or donating to a charity that helps provide education about the Holocaust. |
| In some communities a list of names of people who died in the Nazi camps or in the ghettos is read aloud, in remembrance of the Holocaust victims. |
|
Related Links: Facts Holidays Facts Animals Facts Holidays and Commonly Observed Celebrations Facts for Kids Facts: History and Science Facts for Kids |