(Photo By: Matt Lebovic/The Times of Israel)
By: Matt Lebovic - January 26, 2021
As countries around the world observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, online events will replace large gatherings at the Jewish genocide’s major sites of remembrance.
Started by the United Nations in 2005, the commemoration marks the day that Auschwitz-Birkenau — the largest of Nazi Germany’s death camps — was liberated by the Soviet army on January 27, 1945. One million Jews from all over Europe were murdered in gas chambers there, in addition to 100,000 victims from Poland, Russia and elsewhere.
With many countries reeling from COVID-19 deaths, some organizations are focusing on the plight of the Holocaust’s youngest victims: the 1,500,000 Jewish children murdered by Nazi Germany. Another theme shared this year is combatting “denial” of the genocide, which — along with anti-Semitism — is on the rise globally.
Read More: Times of Israel