Commemorations

The Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission (THGAAC) has compiled a list of commemorative dates and events that will take place throughout the course of the year. These events commemorate the Holocaust and various genocides. While some events are available to attend virtually, as we move through the COVID-19 pandemic, many events are now only being held in-person.

Please take a moment to browse the various events taking place.

Should you or an organization with which you are affiliated like your commemorative/educational event listed, please contact the THGAAC via e-mail.

January 2023

Monday, January 23 - Friday, January 27, 2023
Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week

Friday, January 27, 2023
International Holocaust Remembrance Day

April 2023

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Light/The Holocaust & Humanity
In our darkest times, it is hope that pushes us forward. Light tells the horrific and profound story of Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren, a survivor of three Nazi-era death camps. Naomi’s life during this period of history was harrowing and filled with loss. In Light, we follow her path from a beautiful family with a rich culture and traditions, to utter dehumanization… and all along the way; we feel Naomi’s courage, resistance, and resilience.

As a dance, the story of Light is told from a present-day perspective. The music is composed of works by contemporary writers. The decor and dress is of today, and spare. The story of “never again” is a warning of which we must always be mindful and diligent concerning the protection of human rights against bigotry and hatred.

Learn more here.

Sunday, April 2, 2023
Light/The Holocaust & Humanity
In our darkest times, it is hope that pushes us forward. Light tells the horrific and profound story of Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren, a survivor of three Nazi-era death camps. Naomi’s life during this period of history was harrowing and filled with loss. In Light, we follow her path from a beautiful family with a rich culture and traditions, to utter dehumanization… and all along the way; we feel Naomi’s courage, resistance, and resilience.

As a dance, the story of Light is told from a present-day perspective. The music is composed of works by contemporary writers. The decor and dress is of today, and spare. The story of “never again” is a warning of which we must always be mindful and diligent concerning the protection of human rights against bigotry and hatred.

Learn more here.

Friday, April 7, 2023
Anniversary of the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Saturday, April 8, 2023
International Romani Day

Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Remembering Rwanda: Post-Genocide Law and Policy
This event will commemorate and draw lessons from the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Panelists include two survivors of and a law professor who specializes in that Genocide. The survivors will share their testimonies about enduring the Genocide and their lives since. The professor will discuss transitional justice responses to the Genocide and how those responses both drew from transitional justice for the Holocaust and have contributed to transitional justice for atrocity crimes since Rwanda.

Learn more here.

Sunday, April 16, 2023
March of Remembrance
The March of Remembrance, also known as March of Life, is an international organization that honors the survivors and victims of the Holocaust while promoting healing and reconciliation between victims, perpetrators, and their descendants. It was birthed in Tübingen, Germany by Jobst Bitner, a theologian and activist, as a German-Christian response to the Holocaust. The marches have grown to a worldwide movement led by Christian leaders and universities partnering with the Jewish community.

Learn more here.

Sunday, April 16, 2023
Citywide Yom HaShoah Observance
Please join Holocaust Museum Houston in observance of Yom HaShoah, a day of remembrance for the six million Jewish people who lost their lives during the Holocaust. During this annual commemoration, we will mourn the loss of all who perished, honor those who survived and come together as a community to remember and reflect.

Learn more here.

Sunday, April 16, 2023
2023 Holocaust Remembrance Event
Join the Greater Austin Holocaust Education and Remembrance Advisory Committee for our Austin community Holocaust remembrance event produced by Phil Klein in collaboration with Shalom Austin---featuring guest speakers, live music, vocal performances, video montages and a moving candle lighting ceremony led by Mike O'Krent. To end the program, Rabbi Neil Blumofe will sing a beautiful rendition of El Maleh Rachamim.
This program is appropriate for ages 8 and up.

Learn more here.

Sunday, April 16, 2023
Yom HaShoah Commemoration 2023
Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorates the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust and celebrates the lives of those who survived. Join the Dallas area community to reflect upon this tragedy, remember those who perished, and honor our survivors. There is no cost to attend this event, but registration is required.

Learn more here.

Monday, April 17, 2023
Anniversary of the Fall of Phnom Penh and Memorial for the Cambodian Genocide

Monday, April 17, 2023
Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) begins at sundown

Monday, April 17, 2023
Early Israeli & American Artists: Re-visioning the Holocaust
In honor of Yom HaShoah, this talk focuses on three Israeli and three American familiar and unfamiliar artists working in very diverse styles and not typically thought of as focusing on the Holocaust.

Learn more here.

Monday, April 17, 2023
Community Yom HaShoah Commemoration
Join Beth-El Congregation for a community Yom HaShoah commemorative event.

Learn more here.

Monday, April 17, 2023
Yom HaShoah Commemoration
Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest NJ on YouTube for this meaningful and inspiring program with special guest speaker Eva (Safier) Wiener, Holocaust survivor and one of the youngest passengers on the infamous St. Louis, the ship full of escapees from Germany which was denied entry at multiple ports. She and her family were allowed to disembark in England where they survived the war.

The program will also include a candle-lighting ceremony, recitation of the Kaddish, and hymns.

Learn more here.

Monday, April 17, 2023
Sisters in Survival: Female Solidarity in the Ghettos and Concentration Camps
Join Wagner College Holocaust Center for a very special Yom Ha'Shoah v'Ha'Gevurah (Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism Day) program as they commemorate two remarkable women who survived the concentration camps through the love and care of female relatives. Ram Roth will speak about his mother, Rachel (Ruchama) Roth, who endured the Warsaw Ghetto and uprising, Majdanek, Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen alongside her Aunt Hela, as described in her memoir Here There Is No Why. Fern Zagor will remember her mother, Frieda (Wakschlag) Aaron, who survived the Warsaw Ghetto, Majdanek and two other concentration camps with her mother and sister Estelle, as described in Estelle's memoir, Transcending Darkness: A Girl's Journey Out of the Holocaust and Frieda's scholarly text Bearing the Unbearable: Yiddish and Polish Poetry in the Ghettos and Concentration Camps. Scholar Daan de Leeuw will present his research on Dutch and Polish women in the camps, "From Circle of Care to Enduring Enmity: Jewish Women in the Lublin-Majdanek Camp System."

Learn more here.

Monday, April 17, 2023
Yom HaShoah 2023 Commemoration
Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is observed by the Jewish community each spring and is a national memorial day in Israel. The San Antonio Community observes Yom Hashoah at a different San Antonio synagogue every year. This observance uses Jewish traditions to remember the victims of the Holocaust; Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio invites all San Antonio Community members to join in remembering those whose lives were lost during the Holocaust.

Learn more here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Shoah: Remembrance and Denial in the Context of Contemporary Antisemitism
How will the Shoah be remembered? Will the truth endure, or will it be reshaped by antisemitism? This seminar will examine this important subject matter.

Learn more here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Holocaust Remembrance Day
This year’s commemoration will be held in person at the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology building on the UT Dallas campus. This annual event will once again feature readings by faculty, staff, students, and community members of poetry, prose, and personal testimony in a variety of languages. The Ackerman Center will post further details as they are finalized.

Learn more here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Unsung Heroines: Women and the Holocaust
ADL New England is hosting a special event on Yom HaShoah to explore how women are carrying forward the stories and lessons of the Holocaust. The conversation will feature a range of women with connections to this topic, including Edith Morgan (whose family escaped from Nazi German), Dr. Kate DeConinck (Director of the Cohen Center), and others. The webinar will be pre-recorded and available to stream at noon ET on April 18th.

Learn more here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Preserving Jewish History: Exploring Centropa's Library of Rescued Memories
Centropa was founded in Vienna and Budapest in 2000 with the goal of preserving and disseminating Jewish memory before the Holocaust in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Baltics, and the former Soviet Union. Dr. Lauren Granite, Centropa’s Director of Education in North America, will discuss how the organization interviewed over 1,200 elderly Jewish people and digitized over 25,000 privately-held family photographs and personal documents to create thematic websites, multimedia films, traveling exhibitions, educational programs, and illustrated books.

Learn more here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023
2023 Yom HaShoah Commemoration
Join the El Paso Holocaust Museum for this community commemoration of Yom HaShoah as they gather to remember the victims of the Holocaust, honor the survivors, and reflect on what their legacy means for each of today.

Learn more here.

Thursday, April 20, 2023
National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance
The US Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust, during which we remember the six million Jews who were murdered. Since 1982, the USHMM has organized and led the national Days of Remembrance ceremony with Holocaust survivors, Members of Congress, White House officials, the diplomatic corps, and community leaders. As the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum leads the nation in honoring the survivors, paying tribute to the rescuers, and celebrating the liberators, we are reminded of the power of their history to inspire all of us to confront antisemitism, all forms of group-targeted hate, and genocide.

Learn more here.

Sunday, April 23, 2023
March of Remembrance

Learn more here.

Sunday, April 23, 2023
Arnod Fingerhut: From a Life in Hiding to Living the American Dream
In recognition of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, visit the Georgetown Public Library to hear Jack Fingerhut from Congregation Havurah Shalom of Sun City share the story of his father, Arnold Fingerhut.

Learn more here.

Monday, April 24, 2023
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Monday, April 24, 2023
Annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance Program
Join the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education for their annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance commemoration.

Learn more here.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Third Generation Voices of the Holocaust
In honor of Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Month, join the Holocaust Resource Center of Kean University and grandchildren of survivors (3G) to hear their family members’ stories of wartime survival and rebuilding after the Holocaust.

Learn more here.

Thursday, April 27, 2023
100 Days of Sorrow: Remembering the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Holocaust Museum Houston commemorates the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 with survivors Henriette Mutegwaraba and Provie Umugwaneza. Henriette and Provie will share not only their personal stories of survival, but also the wisdom and lessons that they learned firsthand about the dangers of hate and extremism in the modern era.

Learn more here.

Saturday, April 29, 2023
Genocide Awareness Month: Survivors in Conversation
The genocide survivors and members of the Rwandan community living in Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area cordially invite you to join the Rwandan American Community-DFW-RCA in marking the 29th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Learn more here.

Saturday, April 29, 2023
Kwibuka 29
April marks Genocide Awareness Month, a time to remember mass atrocities committed around the world, honor victims and survivors, and educate about the consequences of prejudice, hatred, and indifference. In honor of Genocide Awareness Month, hear from three genocide survivors who endured the worst of humanity but now share their stories to inspire hope for a world where every human life is valued.

Learn more here.

June 2023

Sunday, June 4, 2023
“We Speak Up Because They Cannot”: Remembering the Families Completely Wiped Out in the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda
Join Providence Nkurunziza and fellow survivors as they commemorate the families completely wiped out during the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Learn more here.

July 2023

Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Anniversary of the Beginning of the Srebrenica Massacre/Bosnian Genocide