Tuesday, January 17, 2023
January 27th of every year is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The theme of 2023 is "Home and Belonging." It reflects on what these concepts meant to persecuted individuals during the Holocaust and in its aftermath,” according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
According to Wisconsin Act 30 (2021), Wisconsin students in grades 5-8 and 9-12 must respectively be taught about the Holocaust and genocide at least once. Commemoration days are an opportunity to revisit this important piece of history, and to help students reflect on the role memory and history play in helping guide our current world and our future.
Looking for a way to incorporate International Holocaust Remembrance Day in your lessons or curriculum? Why not start here:
- A video seminar from the Milwaukee Jewish Museum: Talking to Kids about the Holocaust
- The Holocaust Resource Center of Milwaukee has a trove of online resources, including interviews with local people who survived the Holocaust
- A short (10 minute) video from the US Holocaust Museum on Why We Remember
- An overview of what happened at Auschwitz, and how it was liberated (text and videos)
May we remember those whose lives were lost or forever changed, and fulfill the promise of "Never Again."