April 21 is Holocaust Remembrance Day

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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Congress established the Days of Remembrance as our nation's annual commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust. 

This year's observance falls during the week of April 19 through April 26, with April 21 being the actual Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah in Hebrew. 

The Holocaust was the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators. Between the German invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 and the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, Nazi Germany and its accomplices strove to murder every Jew under their domination. 

Because Nazi persecution of the Jews began with Hitter's accession to power in January 1933, many historians consider this the start of the Holocaust era. The Jews were not the only victims of Hitter's regime, but they were the only group that the Nazis sought to annihilate. 

While Holocaust is the common name used for this tragedy since the 1960s among the English-speaking world; the event was historically referred to as Shoah by the Jews themselves, which has a slightly different meaning. 

Holocaust is from an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and originally meant a sacrificial offering that was burnt completely, until nothing was left. Some people object to using this term, as it suggests some sort of sacrificial or religious significance to the event. The word Shoah is Hebrew and when translated means "a great catastrophe". 

The theme for this year's Days of Remembrance is Never Again: What You Do Matters.
Although many German citizens disapproved of the events of those days, very few took action to try to stop the violence. German Jews were systematically stripped of their citizenship and basic human rights. This dehumanization of the Jews culminated in the Holocaust (Shoah).

The Holocaust demonstrates one of the greatest lessons about individual responsibility-that each of us has the choice to act or not to act, and there are consequences to our decisions.

The 3rd Wing is hosting a Holocaust memorial service Tuesday, April 21st at 4:00 p.m. at Chapel 2. All Elmendorf personnel are invited to attend.

For more information about the Holocaust or the Days of Remembrance observance, please visit  United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website (www.ushmm.org).