20 January 2022
To mark the UN-sanctioned International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust (27 January), Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, is launching two unique online events that give the public around the world the opportunity to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered by the German Nazis and their collaborators.
IRemember Wall
Yad Vashem’s unique online commemorative project, IRemember Wall, allows, individuals who register to be randomly linked to one of the names found in Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names, which today includes the names of over 4,800,000 Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The participants' names then appear on the IRemember Wall together with the name of the victim of the Holocaust. The user can also choose a specific name of a family members or anyone else they know in the Names Database with whom they wish to be matched.
For over a decade, the "IRemember Wall," has been memorializing hundreds of thousands of Holocaust victims. As in previous years, Meta (Facebook) will use its platform and resources in order to encourage global awareness and outreach of this meaningful project.
Iris Rosenberg, Director of Yad Vashem's Communications Division explains:
“In advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem is again launching the IRemember Wall, available in six languages – English, Hebrew, French, Spanish, German and Russian. This project creates meaningful opportunities for people all over the world to remember the victims of the Holocaust in their own language. By partnering together with Meta (Facebook), we are able to reach a wider international audience, which is crucial in keeping the memory of the Jewish victims alive and the meanings of the Holocaust relevant to the challenges of today’s reality.”
New Online Exhibition: "Remember Your New Name"
"I often used to wake the children in the middle of the night, to check if they remembered their new names even when half asleep. I would repeat over and over again that no one could know that we were Jewish." Brenda Pluczenik-Schor
Many Jews tried to save themselves and their families from persecution and death by using forged papers that provided them with false identities. For most, this was a daily battle for survival in a hostile environment, which required resourcefulness and the ability to adjust to constantly shifting circumstances. The sentiment portrayed in Brenda Pluczenik's memoir perfectly describes that existential threat these Jews experienced. Even though they were free, they lived in perpetual fear of all people and places, and made every effort to make themselves invisible and to fully embrace the customs of their surroundings. Mistakes were not an option; they could cost them their lives as well as those of their hosts.
To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem has launched a new online exhibition entitled "Remember Your New Name: Surviving the Holocaust Under a False Identity."
Dana Porath, Director of the Digital Department in Yad Vashem's Communications Division state:
"This exhibition sheds light on how some Jews lived during the Holocaust outside of the disease-ridden ghettos, concentration and extermination camps. Imprisoned by the paralyzing fear of being discovered for who and what they truly were, they lived their lives seeing the plight of their fellow Jews, but were powerless to do anything about it. These Jews were often the only members of their family to survive the atrocities of the Holocaust."
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan remarks:
"Today, as Holocaust distortion and trivialization become more and more mainstream, fueled by hatred, antisemitism and xenophobia, highlighting personal stories from the Shoah is more relevant than ever. We owe it to the victims of the Holocaust to share their experiences and voices, for the sake of future generations."
Please visit Yad Vashem's website for more information about the Holocaust, commemorative activities for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and more online exhibitions.
