Yom Hashoah 2024

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is commemorated on the 27th of the Hebrew month of Nisan. Shoah, which means “catastrophe” or “utter destruction” in Hebrew, refers to the atrocities that were committed against the Jewish people during World War II. This is a memorial day for those who died in the Shoah. The Shoah is also known as the Holocaust, from a Greek word meaning "sacrifice by fire."

FILE - The railway tracks where hundred thousands of people arrived to be directed to the gas chambers inside the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz Birkenau, or Auschwitz II, are pictured in Oswiecim, Poland, on Dec. 7, 2019. Almost 80 years after the Holocaust, about 245,000 Jewish survivors are still living across more than 90 countries, according to the report by the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file) Source: AP / Markus Schreiber/AP

The Holocaust was the largest manifestation of antisemitism in recent history. Yom HaShoah reminds us of the horrors that Jews and other persecuted groups faced: forced labor, starvation, humiliation, and torture, which often resulted in death. It was a systematic effort to wipe out an entire population from the face of the earth.

Many commemorate Yom HaShoah by lighting yellow candle to keep alive the memories of the victims. Most synagogues and Jewish communities gather together to mark the day through worship, music and the stories from survivors. Find a congregation near you to attend a Yom HaShoah commemoration event.