Holocaust Remembrance Day is an international memorial day to commemorate those who suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime during the Holocaust.
The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The Nazis saw the Jews as an alien threat to the so-called German racial community. German authorities also targeted other groups because of their perceived “racial inferiority”: Roma, the disabled, some Slavic peoples, Communists, Socialists, Jehova’s Witnesses, Homosexuals, and more.
U.S. Holocaust Remembrance Day is on Jan. 27, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In Israel, the full name of this national memorial day is “Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah“ or the “Day of (Remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism.” It is marked on the 27th day in the month of Nisan.
This year, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) has launched the hashtag #WeRemember to encourage people to raise awareness on social media about the Holocaust.
“Anti-Semitism is more prevalent today than it has been at any time since World War II, and bigotry and discrimination still rear their ugly heads all around the world. This is why we all must declare, together, that we remember,” said WJC CEO Robert Singer. “Using the tools of social media we hope to engage the next generation, because, soon, it will be their responsibility to tell the story and ensure that humanity never forget.” 
A similarly themed hashtag, #AskWhy, was launched by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with the goal of sparking a global conversation about why the forces of extremism, hatred, and anti-Semitism still persist, and what makes both individuals and societies resilient.
One Winthrop professor, Dr. Kristin Kiblinger, teaches a RELG 300 Intro to World Religions class, where basic information on the Holocaust and Holocaust Remembrance Day are taught. When she taught HMXP classes, her students would read and discuss “The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps” by Terrence Des Pres.
“A variety of reputable studies continue to show that anti-Semitism remains a problem.” says Dr. Kiblinger. “Sometimes Jews are blamed for problems in the financial industry or media. Sometimes anti-Semitism is mixed with general xenophobia or opposition to Israeli policies. Occasionally papers report hate crimes or attacks on synagogues.”
With anti-Semitism at a rise in today’s societies, remembering the Holocaust and those who suffered at the hands of people who deemed themselves superior is crucial. Racially motivated persecution still exists all over the world, with anti-Semitism rising in Germany, the persecution and torment of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma, the many blocks on refugees and immigration in the U.S., and more.
To combat this, societies must raise awareness about the racial issues still prevalent in the world, challenge the racial ideals that run deep in today’s society, and fight for more representation for people of a variety of backgrounds.
