JMM Insights: Holocaust Remembrance

I simply can’t build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery and death…I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come out right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. In the meantime I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out. ~Anne Frank

On Yom HaShoah we remember a terrible tragedy, a tragedy not only for the Jewish people but for all of humanity. One might be forgiven if, at a time when our evening news consists of a recitation of contemporary instances of “confusion, misery and death” (COVID body counts, mass unemployment, racial and religious attacks), we chose to look away from the horrors of the past.

But perhaps the Yom HaShoah we need in these times is the one that honors life and “upholds ideals.” In that spirit this issue of JMM Insights links to artwork and stories of individuals who survived, and activities you can do as a family at home to bring a little joy into the world in a time of darkness.

~Marvin

THE DIGITAL MUSEUM: YOM HASHOAH

This week in communities all over the world, people are gathering to remember the lives of those that were murdered during the Holocaust.  Yom HaShoah (also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day) was created by Israel’s Knesset (parliament) as a memorial to the 6 million Jewish people that were killed by the Nazis between 1933-1945. It falls on the 27th day of the Jewish month of Nisan, the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

As part of our Yom HaShoah observance, JMM has created a digital gallery of our Holocaust Memory Reconstruction Project. These moving collages, created by Holocaust survivors and their families, were originally displayed during our Remembering Auschwitz: History, Holocaust, Humanity exhibit in 2017, as well as published in a book of the same name.

We invite you to explore these collages and their accompanying stories here.

Our program team has also put together a family activity pack on Becoming an Upstander, which includes a special Yom HaShoah activity.

This year, Yom HaShoah marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps. And while we may not be able to gather together in person, the Baltimore Jewish Council, JMM, and other partner agencies are committed to continuing the tradition of coming together to remember as a community. On Sunday, April 19th, BJC premiered Baltimore’s first online Yom HaShoah experience, to collectively remember and honor all of those who were lost in the Holocaust. The experience includes excerpts of video interviews with local Survivors who were liberated from the concentration camps.

You can experience this very moving and thoughtful program during this week of Holocaust Remembrance here.

Explore a small round up of additional Yom HaShoah and Holocaust Remembrance resources here.

WONDERNAUTS: STORIES OBJECTS CAN TELL

As we think about remembrances, and stories from our past, and how the future will remember us, this Wondernauts activity, Imagine Earth Artifacts, is worth exploring! This Wondernauts activity is recommended for ages 7 and up.

ON THE BLOG: VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION WEEK

Did you know it’s Volunteer Appreciation Week?

We think you’ll love these stories some of our volunteers have shared with us this week about meaningful objects in their homes!

 

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