The U.S. observes Days of Remembrance, the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust, in April each year. For the past 18 years, FIT has commemorated the Holocaust with a lecture, exhibition, and an all-day reading of the names of victims. This year, due to COVID-19 and the fact that the college is operating remotely, the traditional commemoration cannot be held. Instead, FIT’s Holocaust Commemoration Committee is sharing brief video links to honor the day, which is being held this year on Tuesday, April 21:
Never Again: Heeding the Warning Signs: From the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, this video looks back at the events of 1938 and the momentous changes that occurred in Central Europe.
Voices of Rescue from the Holocaust: Also from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, this video tells the stories of ordinary people who chose to intervene and help rescue Jews, despite the risks, and demonstrates that individuals have the power to make a difference.
In addition to watching the videos above, FIT’s Holocaust Commemoration Committee invites you to join in honoring the victims of the Holocaust by reading some names on this list, to show that the world has not forgotten.
The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of 6 million people—mostly Jews—by the Nazi regime, its allies, and collaborators. But the command from Adolf Hitler also included the Roma and Sinti people, homosexuals, Slavs, dissidents, those with mental and physical disabilities, and many more. As the Italian writer and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi wrote: “Never had so many human lives been extinguished in so short a time, and with so lucid a combination of technological ingenuity, fanaticism and cruelty.”
The Holocaust was an unspeakable crime against humanity. Yet over the years, many survivors have spoken, telling their stories in books and articles, in film and theater and dance. FIT has given these filmmakers, scholars, journalists, authors, fashion designers, religious leaders, and artists a platform at its annual commemoration as a potent reminder of those who perished.