International Holocaust Remembrance Day: why it’s important to commemorate
Today, 27 January, marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD). HMD has been observed since 2006, after the United Nations General Assembly in November 2005 adopted a resolution to commemorate the victims who died during the Holocaust. Why is International Holocaust Remembrance Day celebrated on 27 January? We celebrate International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January as it coincides with the day in 1945 when Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland.
Although many prisoners were sadly forced on a ‘death march’ in the days leading up to this date, around seven thousand were left behind – meaning that thousands could be freed and receive urgent medical attention. Why is it important to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day? International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an important opportunity to remember the millions of people who were targeted between 1933 and 1945 and killed in concentration camps during the Second World War.
This includes six million Jewish people who tragically lost their lives during on-going anti-Semitic persecution. In total, two thirds of the entire Jewish population in Europe were killed – amounting to one third of the global Jewish population.
Around 10,000 to 15,000 men accused of homosexuality by the Nazi state were deported to concentration camps. There, many died of exhaustion due to the inhumane conditions but others underwent castration or were used in medical experiments.
