ST. LOUIS — Every year, countries across the world recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January.
The United Nations General Assembly chose to designate Jan. 27 – the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – as a day to remember the 6 million Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
"The whole world on this day mourns our losses and tells stories of our survivors and feels compassion for our tragedy and the whole world pledges never to forget," Rabbi Randy Fleisher told 5 On Your Side in 2022.
This is different from Holocaust Remembrance Day – also called Yom HaShoah – which is held in April. Yom HaShoah marks the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, when Jewish resistance fighters fought against the Nazis.
Note: The video above is from Jan. 27, 2022.
How you can honor lives lost
One way the St. Louis-area community can honor the lives lost and those who survived is by visiting the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. From Jan. 27-29, museum tickets will be "pay as you wish" and can be purchased in-person at the museum.
The museum reopened in November 2022 after a $21 million renovation that took two years to complete. The museum is now four times larger than it was before.
About 800 survivors settled in St. Louis after WWII. Those who visit the museum will hear first-hand stories, see artifacts and read exhibits about what Jewish families went through during the war.
"The more we hear stories and see faces and connect to people who've lived through horror and terror, I hope the more we resolve to make sure that we create societies and communities where people don't become ostracized," Fleisher told 5 On Your Side.
If you know of events being held in the St. Louis area for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, send us an email.