6 Million Jews Did Not Survive The Holocaust
Some holidays are not for celebrating; they are for remembering.
On this day, we remember the six million Jews that did not survive. The Holocaust was a systematic genocide of Jewish people by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II throughout many countries in Europe from 1933-1945 with an estimated 11-12 Million deaths. Jews were not the only people singled out for destruction. Other victims targeted by the government of Nazi Germany were Poles, Ukrainians and Gypsies and others based on their ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, or sexual orientation.
The word "Shoah" is Hebrew for "catastrophe." Literally, Yom HaShoah is the day we remember the catastrophe. And though Hitler sought to wipe out an entire race of Jewish people, he was not successful. God will always remember His covenant with His people.
And, we remember. There is a Holocaust museum in Jerusalem I've been to many times. It's generally our last stop on our tours to Israel. We spend three hours, but you really need three days. It is called Yad Vashem. The name "Yad Vashem" is taken from a verse in the Book of Isaiah:
"To them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name, better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off from memory." - Isaiah 56:5
Yad Vashem literally means, "a memorial and a name." Yad Vashem is set on preserving the memory of the murdered, honoring Jewish fighters who fought in and outside of Israel’s borders against their Nazi persecutors and the Gentiles who selflessly assisted them. The museum is committed to recording and preserving the names of those who died during the Holocaust.
The Holocaust was not a natural disaster that just happened - it is the result of systematic persecution by Adolf Hitler's Third Reich regime in which they were dehumanized as less than human beings. Laws were created to force them into ghettos or concentration camps with ruthless tactics like gas chambers for mass murder so no one would ever have an opportunity to escape.
The Nazis named the Holocaust "the final solution of America's Jewish question." There were two phases that took place during this systematic genocide - an initial phase which began in 1938 in Germany called "Kristallnacht," meaning night or broken glass. During this time they carried out their plan for destroying everything Jews owned from stores, to homes, and synagogues.
During the second phase in 1943-1945, they began their systematic extermination of Jews with gas chambers as part of Hitler's plan for a "Jew-free" Europe by murdering more than six million Jewish people from different countries like Poland or Russia who were not deemed worthy enough because it was believed that all these races were not pure or worthy of a life.
Though it may be hard to imagine that anyone could commit such a horrific act, Hitler's plan for the "Final Solution" was carried out with many accomplices from his own people. This is what made this tragedy possible and so devastating - not just in Berlin, but all over Europe where Jews were living at one point or another during WWII.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Elie Wiesel
This quote is from a Holocaust survivor, and it perfectly captures the sentiment behind Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day. Yom HaShoah is an international day of remembrance for those who perished in the Nazi genocide during World War II. It occurs on the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, which this year is sundown on April 7, 2021, to sundown on April 8, 2021.
More than 1/3 of all European Jewry were killed in the Holocaust and it took only 3 years for Hitler to turn his malevolent vision into reality.
This year on Yom HaShoah, we take time to remember those who perished from Nazi persecution and recommit ourselves to fighting against prejudice and persecution everywhere.
While Holocaust Remembrance Day is a somber occasion, Jewish people also use the day as an opportunity to give thanks for those who survived and remind themselves that we must never forget.
It's important not only because of what it represents - the end result was an unimaginable tragedy in which Jews were singled out by Hitler’s regime solely on their ethnicity rather than any political considerations or religious beliefs they may have had - but its lessons are still relevant today when anti-Semitism remains rampant around much of the world.
