International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day as designated by the United Nations.

UNC Asheville has traditionally observed Holocaust Remembrance Day on the day it is observed in Israel, on Yom HaShoah, with The Reading of the Names – a reading on the Quad of the names of victims of the Holocaust, with students, faculty, staff and community members volunteering. In 2019, Yom HaShoah falls on May 2, and The Reading of the Names will be held then.

The Reading of the Names is organized on campus by UNC Asheville’s Center for Diversity Education, which has an extensive Holocaust Education Program, with more information here.

On Jan. 31, Walter Ziffer, scholar and Holocaust survivor, will give a talk on the history of anti-Semitism, at 5:30 p.m. in Highsmith Student Union, in The Grotto. This event is free and open to everyone.

The United Nations will hold Holocaust remembrance events at its New York City headquarters this week with the theme: Holocaust Remembrance: Demand and Defend Your Human Rights. “This theme encourages youth to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust, act against discrimination and defend democratic values in their communities, at a time when the spread of Neo-Nazism and hate groups fuels the rising antisemitism and other forms of hatred around the world. The theme highlights the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

You can learn more on the UN website, and to learn about programs at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., click here.