Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

70 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 

International Holocaust 
Remembrance Day
J

an. 27 is International Holocaust 
Remembrance Day. As declared 
by the United Nations on Nov. 1, 
2005, this is a memorial day for the six 
million Jews, as well as thousands of other 
minorities, who were murdered by the 
German Nazis between 1933 and 1945. 
The date corresponds to 
the liberation of the largest 
Nazi concentration camp, 
located in occupied Poland 
in 1945: Auschwitz-Birkenau. 
This was the most notorious 
of the many death camps 
maintained by the Nazis until 
the end of World War II.
International Holocaust Remembrance 
Day should not be confused with Yom 
HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance 
Day in Israel. The full name of this annual 
Israeli commemoration for the six million 
Jews lost to the Nazis is “Yom HaZikaron 
laShoah ve-laG’vurah,
” or in English, 
“Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance 
Day.
” Colloquially known as “Yom 
HaShoah,
” it will be held on April 17-18 
this year, or the 27th of Nisan.
Yom HaShoah is a moving event in 
Israel. Especially at 10 a.m., when a siren 
sounds. Everyone stops what they are 
doing, no matter where they are, for two 
minutes of silence in memory of those lost.
International Holocaust Remembrance 
Day is now recognized by many nations 
around the world, from Europe to Asia. 
While Jan. 27 is the official day, a few are 
held on other dates. Austria holds it on 
May 5, the day when the Mauthausen 
Concentration Camp was liberated. Latvia 
holds it on July 4, the day in 1941 when 
the Great Choral Synagogue was burned 
in Riga.
The Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History holds many Holocaust 
Remembrance Day reports and other 
Holocaust accounts. One of the earliest 

is in the Dec. 5, 1947, issue of the 
Detroit Jewish Chronicle. The title says 
it all: “Youngest Auschwitz Survivor 
Reenacts Story of Hellcamp.
” Although 
this first-person account by Felix 
Piotrkowsky was published 
before any formal Holocaust 
Remembrance Day, it is a 
poignant reminder of the 
horrors of Auschwitz.
Another moving piece was 
on the front page of the Jan. 
11, 1946, JN. Josef Rosenzaft, 
chairman of the Central 
Committee representing 
80,000 survivors liberated 
from concentration camps, 
authored “
A Prayer to the Jews 
of Detroit,
” which asked for 
much-needed assistance.
A ceremony was held at what 
is now known as the Zekelman 
Holocaust Center on Jan. 27, 
2008. Harry Geisner told an 
audience about his survival as 
a 17-year-old Austrian Jew. 
He was accompanied by his 
grandson, a decorated U.S. 
Marine (Jan. 31, 2008, JN).
Personally, one of the 
most memorable days 
of my life was in 2015. I 
received an invitation from 
my friend, Piotr Cywinski, the director 
of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and 
Museum, to attend the 70th anniversary of 
the liberation of Auschwitz in Oswiecim, 
Poland. The commemoration was held 
in a giant tent at the gate to the infamous 
Birkenau camp, which the Nazis built when 
nearby Auschwitz could not accommodate 
the huge numbers of prisoners. Seeing 
hundreds of survivors wearing striped 
uniforms, and hearing their stories, left a 
deep, indelible impression upon me (Feb. 
12, 2015, JN).

Many Holocaust stories can be found 
in the Davidson Archive. JN Editor Phil 
Jacobs summed up all of them in his Feb. 3, 
1995, editorial: “
Auschwitz’s Anniversary is 
Every Day, Every Year.
” 
Indeed, and Holocaust Remembrance 
Day is an important step toward never 
forgetting. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation 
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.
org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

