Modern commemorations
Yom HaShoahיוֹם הַשּׁוֹאָה
1 day (commemorations usually in the evening or during the day) · 27 Nisan (if it falls on a Friday, it is moved earlier to Thursday; if it falls on a Sunday, it is postponed to Monday)
- History
- Modern practice
- Interpretation
- Transliteration
- Yom HaShoah
- Pronunciation
- JOM ha-šo-A
- Duration
- Israel: 1 day (from evening to evening)
Diaspora: 1 day (commemorations usually in the evening or during the day)
In 60 seconds
Yom HaShoah, in full the Day of Remembrance of the Shoah and Heroism, is the Israeli national day of remembrance for the six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany and its allies. The date, 27 Nisan, was set by the Israeli parliament; it lies between the anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Independence Day. In Israel a two-minute siren sounds at ten in the morning, during which traffic stops and people stand in silence. The evening state ceremony takes place at the Yad Vashem memorial. Entertainment venues are closed and the media broadcast memorial programs. In the diaspora, including the Czech Republic, public readings of the names of victims and memorial gatherings are held.
Next date
When
Begins
Monday, 3 May 2027, at sunset (20:23)
Ends
Tuesday, 4 May 2027, after nightfall (21:21)
1 day
Begins
Sunday, 23 April 2028, at sunset (20:09)
Ends
Monday, 24 April 2028, after nightfall (21:04)
1 day
Begins
Wednesday, 11 April 2029, at sunset (19:50)
Ends
Thursday, 12 April 2029, after nightfall (20:42)
1 day
Times for Prague · Diaspora
History and origins
The day was established by the Knesset in the early 1950s; the 1959 Law of the Day of Remembrance of the Shoah and Heroism set its form (the siren, the closing of entertainment venues). The date was chosen with reference to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which began on the eve of Passover 1943; because the day could not fall on Passover, it was moved to 27 Nisan.
Some Orthodox authorities did not accept the day, because according to halakhah Nisan is a month in which days of mourning are not proclaimed; these communities remember the victims rather on 10 Tevet or on Tisha B'Av.
Religious meaning
The name joins the memory of the victims (shoah, "destruction") with the remembrance of resistance (gevurah, "heroism"): uprisings in the ghettos, partisan fighting, but also spiritual resistance and the saving of lives.
For many people the day also raises the question of responsibility in the present – against antisemitism, racism and indifference.
Core traditions
In Israel a state ceremony is held at Yad Vashem in the evening, at which survivors light six torches. The Zikaron BaSalon ("Remembrance in the Living Room") project invites survivors and their descendants into private homes.
Public reading of the names of victims, often throughout the day, and the lighting of a memorial candle (ner zikaron) are widespread.
How it is observed
In Israel a two-minute siren sounds at 10:00. Traffic stops and people stand in silence. The law requires entertainment venues to close from the eve of the day.
The day has no established halakhic form; it is a civic and communal day of remembrance. Many communities recite kaddish and psalms.
Prayers and blessings
El Malei Rachamim (the prayer for the souls of the dead) is recited in a version for victims of the Shoah, along with kaddish. Psalms and texts from the time of the Shoah are also read.1
The Conservative and Reform movements have created special liturgies; a well-known example is the Conservative movement's Megillat HaShoah.
Symbols and objects
The symbols of the day are memorial candles, six torches (for the six million) and the reading of names. In the diaspora the yellow badge or barbed wire are also used in artistic depictions, though this is not established.
Traditional foods
There are no established special dishes; the day is not associated with food.
Differences between communities
In Israel the whole of society observes the day, but some Haredi communities do not recognize the siren and the state form as religious practice and remember the victims in other ways.
In the diaspora Yom HaShoah is marked in communities, schools and museums. International Holocaust Remembrance Day (27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz) is a separate day proclaimed by the UN.
In the Czech lands
Most of the Jewish population of the Czech lands was deported and murdered during the Shoah. Many transports passed through the Terezín ghetto, from where they continued to the extermination camps in the East.2
The names of the victims from Bohemia and Moravia are inscribed on the walls of the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague, which is part of the Jewish Museum in Prague. The museum also holds a collection of children's drawings from the Terezín ghetto.2
In the Czech Republic, public readings of the names of victims are held on Yom HaShoah in Prague and other cities, along with memorial gatherings of the Jewish communities. In addition, 27 January is commemorated (the statutory Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust and of the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity), as is the night of 8–9 March 1944, when the prisoners of the so-called Terezín family camp were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
For children
On Yom HaShoah people remember the millions of Jews whom the Nazis killed during the Second World War just because they were Jews. In Israel a siren sounds for two minutes and everyone stands in silence. Younger children can talk about why it is important to remember what happened and to treat people fairly.
FAQ
What is the difference between Yom HaShoah and 27 January?
Yom HaShoah (27 Nisan) is an Israeli day set by the Jewish calendar that also commemorates resistance. 27 January is an international day proclaimed by the UN on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz; in the Czech Republic it is a significant day.
Why a siren?
The siren allows the whole of society to honor the victims together at a single moment. People stop their cars and stand in silence.
How is the day marked in the Czech Republic?
With public readings of the names of victims, memorial gatherings of the communities and programs by the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Terezín Memorial.⁂ To verify
Why do some Orthodox Jews not observe Yom HaShoah?
They regard a date in Nisan as halakhically unsuitable for mourning and remember the victims on the traditional fast days, above all on Tisha B'Av and 10 Tevet.