Join us as and celebrate the lives of the survivors from your own community and the living legacies left by those who are no longer with us.
Why June 24?
June 26th is Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski’s birthday which falls on Shabbat this year so we are celebrating on Thursday, June 24th. This date was chosen to acknowledge the importance and impact of the noted historian, journalist, and the moral conscience of Poland’s Jewish community, and especially his powerful speech at last year’s ceremony commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Mr. Turski had this to say:
“Auschwitz did not fall from the sky. It began with small forms of persecution of Jews. It happened; it means it can happen anywhere. That is why human rights and democratic constitutions must be defended. The eleventh commandment is important: Don’t be indifferent. Do not be indifferent when you see historical lies, do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against, do not be indifferent when power violates a social contract.”
ABOUT HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR DAY
On March 6, 2021, Michael Berenbaum and Jonathan Ornstein published the following op-ed in The Jerusalem Post calling for the creation of a “Holocaust Survivor Day.” In their words, “Holocaust survivors deserve a day of joy; a day of celebration. Not a day to share with condemnation of the Nazis, but a day to celebrate their lives they built in response to the Holocaust. Survivors represent the best in all of us, the best of the human spirit. They are our treasure and our light and we must shine that light into every dark corner of our world. We call on the world to join us and celebrate the inaugural Holocaust Survivor Day on June 26th.”
