TYLER, Texas — On Jan. 27, 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated from Nazi control.
The United Nations sanctioned the day moving forward as "International Holocaust Remembrance Day" so everyone around the world would always remember the atrocities against humanity. This year, Jan. 27, 2022, marks the 77th anniversary of survivors of Auschwitz being freed.
This day of remembrance allows those from both the Jewish community and not to come together and bear the responsibility of remembering all 6 million people who were killed based on the faith they associated with.
Although the Jewish community does not celebrate this day of commemoration, the Jewish day is called Yom HaShoah and is commemorated in late April to early May, the day is vital for the world at large. Yom HaShoah is connected to a day Israel put into law in the 1950s and is celebrated in the month of Nisan on the Jewish calendar.
The holiday this year comes as a somber reminder of how prevalent anti-Semitism is within our society around the world following on the heels of the Colleyville synagogue hostage situation in Dallas, where a synagogue was overtaken by a terrorist for 11 hours with four hostages, including the rabbi, inside.
Within the Jewish community in Tyler, Congregation Beth El is not having any event commemorating today but Rabbi Neal Katz urges the community to use today not just as a way to reflect on the Holocaust itself, but to prevent further attacks like the one at Colleyville.
“This day, the UN International Day of Holocaust Commemoration, along with the other day in our calendar in which we commemorate the Holocaust, Yom HaShoah, these are great opportunities for us to kind of take an assessment of what’s going on around us. Look at signs of anti-Semitism, look at signs of being a marginalized community," said Katz. "We only need to see what happened at Colleyville a couple weeks ago to see that Jews are still targeted based on wide-spread conspiracy theories and lies and misinformation."
Across the country and world, countries are using today as a way to remember the six million Jews and millions of others who died in the seven concentration camps across Europe. The common saying associated with the holiday, "we remember", can be seen across social media and other forms of media commemorating the day.
"We remember" acts both as a way to look back on and educate those around us to never repeat the atrocities of the 20th century, but it also acts as a grave warning.
"We are to remain vigilant, not just for our safety but for the safety of everyone," warned Katz.
