Yom HaShoah

Yom HaShoah is a day of remembrance for the victims of the Nazis. Jews around the world remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, reflect on its lasting impact today and educate future generations to ensure it never happens again.

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, occurs on 27 Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, which is in April or early May. The date was chosen to mark the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

Introduced in Israel in 1953, Yom HaShoah is a time for Jews around the world to mourn the loss of the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust and the damage and destruction caused to millions more lives. Shoah means ‘catastrophe’ or ‘utter destruction’ in Hebrew.

The date was chosen as the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, despite its tragic outcome, represents a powerful symbol of defiance and courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

Unlike Holocaust Memorial Day – which has a much wider scope to commemorate subsequent recognised genocides – Yom HaShoah focuses solely on the Holocaust. It is therefore the Jewish community’s day for internal reflection.

Ways to mark Yom HaShoah Day include:

• Attending services, commemoration events and talks held by, or in partnership with, a Progressive Jewish community.
• Taking part in the National Yom HaShoah Commemoration, held every year in London.
• Lighting a remembrance candle as part of the Yellow Candle Project, and placing the image on social media. Organised by Maccabi GB, each Yellow Candle includes a card with the name, age, date and place of death of someone who was murdered in the Holocaust.
• Going on the March of the Living UK, a five-day educational journey in Poland that brings people from all over the world to walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau in memory of those who died there.
• Hearing directly from Holocaust survivors, or second and third generation survivors, to help ensure their stories are never forgotten.

The Holocaust was a systematic effort to wipe out an entire population from the face of the earth. Yom HaShoah reminds us of the horrors that Jews and other persecuted groups faced – murder, starvation, humiliation, torture and forced labour.

As Progressive Jews, we stand together on this day in the importance of remembrance and commemoration. We carry the memories of those who were killed, and those who survived, with us into the future. May their stories and their lives inform and direct the legacy we carry from generation to generation.

If you want to commemorate Yom HaShoah in a welcoming, inclusive, and egalitarian setting, please contact one of our Progressive congregations.