Holocaust survivor discusses importance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day

AMHERST, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Saturday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year’s observance comes in the midst of the deadly war with Israel and Hamas. January 27 may be like any other day on the calendar, but for many, like Amherst resident and Holocaust survivor Henny Lewin, it is more than that.

“My two uncles, aunt, two young cousins, grandparents…the whole family perished,” Lewin said.

Lewin’s parents and one of her cousins miraculously survived, while Lewin was put in a suitcase and smuggled out of a ghetto in Lithunia.

Since 2005, the world has known this day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which recognizes the six million Jews and countless others who perished during one of the worst genocides in history. Saturday also marks 79 years since the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated.

Lewin told Western Mass News that this year’s commemoration has more meaning with antisemitism on the rise three-and-a-half months since Hamas’ brutal terror attacks on Israel and its civilians.

“My only cousin who survived with me,” Lewin explained. “…She and her family live in Israel, so you can imagine how I worry about her, her family, her grandchildren who need to serve in the army and, now, they’re reservists…So many people are afraid to walk into a synagogue or any Jewish institution in case something will happen. I mean, this is crazy.”

We also spoke with Bobby Naimark from the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts. He said this day can be a good opportunity for many to get an understanding of the Holocaust, as well as come together and fight all hate.

“Education is paramount to bringing awareness of not only antisemitism, but also the corresponding Islamophobia that we are seeing throughout this country and we’re not immune to it in western Massachusetts,” Naimark said.

Naimark also pointed out the dangers of making false comparisons to the Holocaust during this difficult time.

“There’s been a lot of analogies of the Holocaust because they inevitably minimize what the Shoah (massacre) was about…and because it is disrespectful to the six million Jews who were murdered during that time,” Naimark added.

Lewin plans to continue what she has been doing for years: talking to young people about the horrors she went through and educating about the holocaust altogether. She said learning can extinguish not just Jew-hate, but all acts of bigotry.

“Every single human being is valuable. We were all created in that same image, doesn’t matter what the color of the skin is, doesn’t matter what the religion is,” Lewin said.

The global Jewish community and the state of Israel will observe their Holocaust Remembrance Day, known as Yom Hashoah, in early May. For now, the message to the public is to combat all acts of antisemitism so atrocities like the Holocaust never happen again.

If you would like to find out how to combat antisemitism, as well as report any antisemitic incidents or threats, you can CLICK HERE for more information.