Holocaust memorial days

A Holocaust memorial day or Holocaust remembrance day is an annual observance to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, the genocide of six million Jews and of millions of other Holocaust victims by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. Many countries, primarily in Europe, have designated national dates of commemoration. In 2005, the United Nations instituted an international observance, International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Many observances fall on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945, while other countries selected separate dates, often to mark anniversaries of national events during the Holocaust. Holocaust remembrance days often include efforts to combat hatred and antisemitism.

In February 2024, Google announced that Holocaust Remembrance Days would no longer be highlighted by default on Google Calendar, arguing that it was no longer "scalable or sustainable" to continue adding the growing number of national and international "cultural moments" manually to its calendars.[1]

List of observances

Country	Day	Name	Notes
United Nations	27 January	International Holocaust Remembrance Day	Designated by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 on 1 November 2005.[2]
Azerbaijan	27 January	Day of the Tragedy and Heroism of the Jews
Australia	27 January[3]	International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Austria	5 May	Memorial Day against Violence and Racism in Memory on the Victims of National Socialism German: Gedenktag gegen Gewalt und Rassismus im Gedenken an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus	The day that the concentration camp Mauthausen was liberated in 1945.
Belgium	27 January	International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust French: Journée internationale de la commémoration en mémoire des victims de la Shoah
Bosnia and Herzegovina	27 January	International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Bulgaria	10 March	Holocaust Remembrance Day and the "Day of the Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews and of the Victims of the Holocaust and of the Crimes against Humanity"	The day of the revocation of the plan to expel the country's Jewish population, officially designated in 2003.[4]
Canada	27 Nisan (April/May)	All ten Canadian provinces of Alberta (2000),[5] British Columbia (2000),[6] Manitoba (2000),[7] New Brunswick (1999),[8] Newfoundland and Labrador (2000),[9] Nova Scotia (2000),[10] Ontario (1998),[11] Prince Edward Island (1999),[12] Quebec (1999),[13] and Saskatchewan (2001)[14] enacted legislation to recognize Holocaust Memorial Day on Yom HaShoah.
Croatia	27 January	Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and for the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity
Czech Republic	27 January	Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity Czech: Den památky obětí holocaustu a předcházení zločinu proti lidskosti
Denmark	27 January	Auschwitz Day of Holocaust and Genocide Remembrance
Estonia	27 January[15]	Holocaust Remembrance Day Holokausti mälestuspäev
Finland	27 January	Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Vainojen uhrien muistopäivä)
France	16 July	Anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup French: Anniversaire de la rafle du Vélodrome d'hiver.	Remembrance marking the mass arrest of 13,152 Jews in Paris in 1942 and their extermination at Auschwitz.
Germany	27 January	Memorial Day for the Victims of National Socialism	German: Tag des Gedenkens an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus
Greece	27 January	National Holocaust Memorial Day Greek: Εθνική Ημέρα Μνήμης Ολοκαυτώματος (Ethniki Imera Mnimis Olokaftomatos)	Since 2004.[16]
Hungary	16 April	Holocaust Memorial Day	Since 2001.[17]
Ireland	Sunday closest to 27 January	National Holocaust Memorial Day Irish: An Lá Idirnáisiúnta Cuimhneacháin ar íospartaigh an Uileloiscthe
Israel (and many Jewish communities in other countries)	27 Nisan (April/May)	Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Day), or Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laGvura (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day)	Both an Israeli day of remembrance and a day of remembrance observed by many Jewish communities in the United States and elsewhere in the world. The date relates both to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising which began 13 days earlier on the first night of Passover 1943, and to the Israeli Independence Day which is eight days later.[18]
Italy	27 January	Memorial Day	Italian: Giorno della Memoria
Latvia	4 July	Commemoration Day of the Victims of the Genocide Against the Jewish People Ebreju tautas genocīda upuru piemiņas diena	Burning of the Great Choral Synagogue in Riga in 1941.[19]
Lithuania	23 September	Day of the Genocide of Lithuania's Jews Lietuvos žydų genocido diena	Anniversary of the liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto in 1943.
Luxembourg	27 January	Holocaust Memorial Day
Netherlands	last Sunday of January	National Holocaust Remembrance	Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945.
North Macedonia	27 January
Norway	27 January	Holocaust Memorial Day
Poland	27 January	International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust	Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945.[20]
Portugal	27 January	Holocaust Remembrance Day
Romania	9 October	National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust Romanian: Ziua Naţională de Comemorare a Holocaustului
Serbia	22 April	Holocaust Remembrance Day Dan sećanja na žrtve holokausta
Slovakia	9 September	Holocaust Victims and Racial Hatred Day	On 9 September 1941, Slovakia passed anti-Jewish laws based on the Nuremberg laws.[21]
Slovenia	27 January	National Holocaust Remembrance Day
Spain	27 January	Day for Holocaust Remembrance and for the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity Día Oficial de la Memoria del Holocausto y la Prevención de los Crímenes contra la Humanidad
Sweden	27 January	Holocaust Remembrance Day Förintelsens minnesdag	A national remembrance day every year since 1999.
Switzerland	27 January	International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Taiwan (Republic of China)	27 January 25 February	Holocaust Memorial Day (大屠殺陣亡將士紀念日) (Dà túshā zhènwáng jiàngshì jìniàn rì)	In addition to the European events, the ROC/Taiwan also honors the victims of the February 28 incident.[22]
Ukraine	27 January	Holocaust Memorial Day	Since 2020.[23]
United Kingdom	27 January	Holocaust Memorial Day	First held in January 2001 and on the same date every year since.
United States	8-day period, from the Sunday before Yom Hashoah to the Sunday after Yom Hashoah	Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust (DRVH)	Established by Congress in 1979 as the period for remembrance programs and ceremonies.

As of 2004^[update], twelve countries observed January 27, the day of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, including Germany, Britain, Italy and Scandinavian countries. In 2003 France designated this date as the day of remembrance of genocides and prevention of crimes against humanity.[24] In 2004 Israel designated this date as a mark of the struggle against antisemitism.

As of 2004^[update], eleven countries in Europe had chosen dates related to local histories.

Commemorations and memorials

• In January 2020, a ceremony was held at Auschwitz to mark the 75th anniversary of its liberation on January 27, 1945.[25] this included speeches by numerous officials and Jewish communal leaders. Large number of Holocaust survivors attended this ceremony.[26][27] In the United Kingdom, government officials, religious leaders and community leaders gathered in London to commemorate this anniversary.[28] On the same date, German police reported they were investigating the sales of a brand of beer with Nazi-style symbols on its labeling.[29]
• In 2021 a number of Jewish organizations in the United Kingdom incorporated the situation in Xinjiang into their Holocaust Memorial Day remembrances and commemorations.[30]

See also

• United Nations Holocaust Memorial
• List of Holocaust memorials and museums
• Roma Holocaust Memorial Day

References

1. Peters, Jay (11 February 2025). "Google Calendar removed events like Pride and BHM because its holiday list wasn't 'sustainable'". The Verge. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
2. Holocaust remembrance at www.UN.org.
3. Australia marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day
4. Bulgaria marks its Holocaust Remembrance day, The Sofia Echo, March 10, 2011 (retrieved October 10, 2013)
5. Documents: Acts at www.qp.Alberta.ca
6. "Holocaust Memorial Day Act". www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
7. Documents: Acts
8. "An Act to Proclaim Holocaust Memorial Day Yom haShoah in New Brunswick - Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick". www.legnb.ca. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
9. https://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/h04-1.htm
10. "Holocaust Memorial Day Act". nslegislature.ca. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
11. "Bill 66, Holocaust Memorial Day Act, 1998 - Legislative Assembly of Ontario". www.ola.org. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
12. https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/legislation/H-06-1-Holocaust%20Memorial%20Day%20Act.pdf
13. "- Act to proclaim Holocaust-Yom Hashoah Memorial Day in Québec". www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
14. http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/english/statutes/statutes/H4-001.pdf
15. "January 27 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day | Ministry of Foreign Affairs". vm.ee. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
16. "Αναζήτηση". www.hellenicparliament.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
17. Megemlékezés a holokauszt magyarországi áldozatairól - April 16, 2020 - Magyar Nemzet, MTI
18. "Remembrance Day Calendar". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
19. "Latvia remembers victims of Holocaust". eng.lsm.lv. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
20. "International Holocaust Remembrance Day". Website of the Republic of Poland.
21. "Slovakia commemorated Holocaust Victims and Racial Hatred Day". spectator.sme.sk. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
22. "Holocaust memorial event held in Taipei to call for awareness of genocide, and respect for human rights | Taiwan News | 2018-02-25 16:22:00". 25 February 2018.
23. For First Time, Ukrainian Parliament Marks int'l Holocaust Remembrance Day
24. "27 janvier : journée de la mémoire des génocides et de la prévention des crimes contre l'humanité". Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de la Jeunesse (in French). Retrieved 17 April 2020.
25. Auschwitz: How death camp became centre of Nazi Holocaust, BBC, JAn 23, 2020.
26. Auschwitz 75 years on: Holocaust Day prompts new anti-Semitism warnings. Holocaust survivors and international leaders are honouring victims of the Nazis at the former Auschwitz death camp, amid calls to fight resurgent anti-Semitism. The presidents of Israel and Poland - Reuven Rivlin and Andrzej Duda - laid wreaths together, 75 years after Soviet troops liberated the camp. BBC, January 27, 2020.
27. Auschwitz 75th anniversary ceremony. Events are being held to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. BBC, Jan 27, 2020.
28. Leaders and royals gather for UK Holocaust Memorial Day event. Senior royals, faith and political leaders are gathering in Westminster to commemorate International Holocaust Memorial Day.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are joining Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the event, which comes 75 years after Auschwitz was liberated. The duke will give a reading and the couple will speak to survivors of the Holocaust and more recent genocides. BBC, Jan 27, 2020.
29. German police probe Nazi-style beer brand, BBC, Jan 27, 2020.
30. Child, David. "Holocaust Memorial Day: Jewish figures condemn Uighur persecution". www.aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

Further reading

• Holocaust Memorial Days: An overview of remembrance and education in the OSCE region, 27 January 2015
• Holocaust Memorial Days: An overview of remembrance and education in the OSCE region, 2018