Ireland marks Holocaust Memorial Day 2016

Survivors of Auschwitz after the liberation of the camp

The Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration is firmly established in the national calendar and takes place in Dublin every year on the Sunday nearest to 27 January, the date of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The event cherishes the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and recalls the millions of innocent Jewish men, women and children and others, who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis because of their ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliations or their religious beliefs.

Holocaust Memorial Day honours the memory of all of the victims of the Holocaust. The inclusion of all the victim groups is integral to the commemoration, highlighting the consequences of intolerance.   The commemoration demonstrates the Irish Government’s commitment to the Declaration of Stockholm 2000 when the signatory countries undertook to commemorate the Holocaust and to teach about it every year.

Holocaust Memorial Day is organised under the auspices of Holocaust Education Trust Ireland in association with the Department of Justice and Equality, The Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration and Dublin City Council.   It is attended by people from all walks of Irish life and society, and from a broad spectrum of political, religious, community and cultural institutions.

Holocaust survivors Tomi Reichantal and Suzi Diamond during the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration at the Mansion House in Dublin

The ceremony includes readings, survivors’ recollections, music and candle-lighting. Six candles are lit for the six million Jewish people who perished in the Holocaust as well as candles for all of the other victim groups.

More than 100 school students from all over Ireland attend the ceremony, some of them reading from the Scroll of Names an Irish memorial to cherished family members of people living in Ireland, who were murdered.

• Irish Time - Survivors speak at Holocaust Memorial Day in Dublin
• Irish Independent - Taoiseach and Holocaust survivors mark National Holocaust Memorial Day

Commemorative booklets are produced by HETI for Holocaust Memorial Day each year. These reflect the ceremony, history and the Holocaust narrative and serve as an excellent resource for schools, students and researchers. It is possible to download any of the HMD booklets by visiting the HMD publications section.

Watch excerpts from Holocaust Memorial Day also at the HETI website.

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Visit the website of the Yad Vashem -

"And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (a "yad vashem")... that shall not be cut off."

(Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 5)

As the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust, Yad Vashem safeguards the memory of the past and imparts its meaning for future generations. Established in 1953, as the world center for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem is today a dynamic and vital place of intergenerational and international encounter. For over half a century, Yad Vashem has been committed to four pillars of remembrance:

• Commemoration
• Documentation
• Research
• Education