Positives that Bloomed from the Holocaust: Remembrance Days

January 27^th, 2011 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD), as established by the United Nations in 2005. January 27^th was chosen for the International Holiday because on this date in 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest concentration camp and one of the first to be liberated from Nazi German rule. In honor of the day, the Yad Vashem Holocaust collections site has been launched. It features scads of information from Nazi-Germany, including letters, documents, diary entries, testimonies and over 130,000 high resolution pictures, which are all now highly searchable with the help of the Jerusalem Holocaust center's partner, Google (press release here). The Yad Vashemcollections site is another excellent resource to help remember the victims of concentration camps in Nazi-Germany.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Holds Candle-Light Vigil

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. will celebrate International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a candle-light vigil in the museum's Hall of Remembrance. The winter weather that struck the Washington D.C. area on the eve of this year's IHRD limits people from travelling to the museum for the vigil. However, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum makes a bigger event of the National Days of Remembrance.

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Hosts National Days of Remembrance May 1st-8th, 2011

May 1^st - May 8th, 2011 are the National Days of Remembrance, established by the United States Congress. The theme for this year's Days of Remembrance at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is "Justice and Accountability in the Face of Genocide: What Have We Learned?" Monday, May 2^nd, 2011 is considered the primary Holocaust Remembrance Day of the National Days of Remembrance. (Future dates include: April 19, 2012; April 8, 2013; April 28, 2014; April 16, 2015; May 5, 2016; April 24, 2017; April 12, 2018 and May 2, 2019)

Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Celebrates International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust programming to celebrate the International Day of Remembrance begins at noon January 27^th, 2011, according to the museum's online programming guide. International Day of Remembrance programming will span two days, the 27^th and 28^th, at the L.A. Museum of the Holocaust.

Do It Yourself (DIY): Organizing Your Own Remembrance Days

Activist types, holocaust history buffs or just about anyone can organize their own Holocaust Remembrance Day. There is a "How to" on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's website to help people organize their own Remembrance Days. The Holocaust Museum website also provides resources for people planning military observances during the 2011 National Days of Remembrance May 1^st - May 8^th, 2011.

Sources:

http://www1.yadvashem.org

http://www.ushmm.org

http://www.lamoth.org/