Yom Hashoah

In 2012, the Lincoln Center Symphony held a one-night performance in New York City entitled "The Suffering of the Innocents." Musical performances and concerts, as well as poetry readings and films, are common forms of remembrance.In Israel, a siren sounds for two full minutes across the country each Yom Hashoah. Everyone ceases their activity to honor the victims of the Shoah. In this photo from 2011, drivers halted on the highway and stepped out of their vehicles in silence during the sounding of the siren.Photos of many victims of the Holocaust cover the walls at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem, Israel. The images give faces to the long list of victims' names.View the list »
Many will honor victims of the Holocaust on Yom Hashoah.

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Yom Hashoah, the Jewish holiday observed in remembrance of the Holocaust, will begin this evening at dusk. This holiday is observed annually on the 27th day in the month of Nisan, falling between Pesach (Passover) and and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day).

Shoah is the Hebrew name for the Holocaust. From 1939 to 1945, Nazis systematically murdered two-thirds of all European Jews. Millions of non-Jews were killed as well, including Roma (or Gypsies), homosexuals, handicapped persons, and political dissidents. Victims of the Shoah were displaced from their homes, separated from their families, and forced into ghettos and camps. Historians recognize six main death camps, where the primary goal was murder, and countless labor camps, where inhabitants were forced into slave labor. Many who were not worked to death became victims of the infamous Nazi gas chambers. Estimates for the total number of deaths under the Nazi regime range from 11 to 26 million.

Each year, many Jews and non-Jews alike observe Yom Hashoah to honor the victims of the Shoah. Many visit memorials, hold vigils, and light memorial candles.Educational programs, talks by survivors, and film viewings are common. Some synagogues hold services with a special liturgy or a Name-Reading Ceremony, in which names of known victims are read aloud.

There are many local observances of Yom Hashoah. Temple Beth El in Williamsburg held a Yom Hashoah Service on Saturday with survivor Frank Shatz. Congregation Beth El in Norfolk is holding a "Reading of the Names" today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Temple Israel in Norfolk will hold a Yom Hashoah Commemoration tonight at 6:45 p.m., featuring survivor Frank Grunwald.

For more Shoah remembrances, keep reading.

View the list
  • Photos of many victims of the Holocaust cover the walls at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem, Israel. The images give faces to the long list of victims' names.
  • In Israel, a siren sounds for two full minutes across the country each Yom Hashoah. Everyone ceases their activity to honor the victims of the Shoah. In this photo from 2011, drivers halted on the highway and stepped out of their vehicles in silence during the sounding of the siren.
  • In 2012, the Lincoln Center Symphony held a one-night performance in New York City entitled "The Suffering of the Innocents." Musical performances and concerts, as well as poetry readings and films, are common forms of remembrance.
  • German artist Gunter Demnig has installed over 30,000 "Stolpersteine" throughout Europe. The Stolpersteine are composed of cobblestones and brass plaques honoring Shoah victims. Demnig installs the Stolpersteine in the sidewalks in front of victims' last residences prior to being deported to labor or death camps.
  • Chava Rosenzweig, a ceramic artist, created an installation of gas-fired ceramic stars in Manchester, England. This work was inspired by Rosenzweig's grandmother, who worked as a seamstress and made the yellow stars that Jewish people were forced to wear. Many artists have struggled to address the tragedy of the Shoah.
  • In this photo from 2011, many gathered at Track 17 in Berlin, Germany and laid white roses near the railroad tracks. Nazis used the railroads to transports Jews to labor and death camps, crowding them into cramped freight cars. Many visit and remember at historical sites and museums.
  • At the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, a group gathers to view a collection of shoes that belonged to victims of the Shoah. Seeing artifacts and possessions of the victims reminds visitors of each lost life.
  • The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Germany commemorates victims of the Holocaust. It is composed of 2,711 concrete "stellae" of varying heights in a grid pattern. Memorials throughout the world honor the victims of the Holocaust.
  • Many light candles and hold vigils to remember victims of the Shoah. In this image from 2011, German President Christian Wulff placed candles at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial in Poland.
  • At the Auschwitz memorial in Poland, flowers hang on a fence. The number on the ribbon may refer to the identification number assigned to and tattooed on a particular victim. Leaving flowers and wreaths at memorial sites, as on a grave, is common.
View the list
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, Virginia Beach Religious Holidays & Festivals Examiner

Alison Kowalski graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, with a bachelor of arts in religious studies. She is a lifelong resident of Virginia Beach. Send Alison a message.

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