HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Saturday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Nazis killed six million Jewish people and five million other people from different religious, racial, and gender minorities.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the liberation of Auschwitz.

“Kind of end of the Holocaust in most people’s minds. It was a day for the international community to really gather around. That includes Europe, America, everywhere,” said Harrisburg Jewish Federation CEO David Cohen.

The Associated Press reports that about 245,000 Holocaust survivors are living across more than 90 countries.

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“These days of the remembrance of the horrible and, gosh, I hate to say this, but at some level, a day of celebration of today, that we’re still here, that those days did not end our existence,” said Temple Ohev Sholom Rabbi Marc Kline.

The Associated Press reports that 49% of survivors are living in Israel. So, what happened on October 7^th, 2023, makes this International Holocaust Remembrance Day feel different.

“October 7th was really the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” said Cohen.

“Today is different because World War II destroyed lives all over the world, and I’m living it again today,” said Rabbi Kline.

So, on this Remembrance Day, we remember the lives lost. But Rabbi Kline says we also need to learn from the past.

“We know if you don’t learn from the past, you’re going to repeat it. The tragedy is most people don’t learn from it, which is why we keep experiencing trauma over and over again. But if we’re committed to remembering what happened so as to make the words never again, not a tagline, but a prophetic statement,” said Rabbi Kline.

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