We must never forget.
Today is Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day; a world-wide commemoration of the genocide of World War II that resulted in the murder of more than 6 million Jews at the hands of the Nazis.
Today, the Holocaust amounts to less than one paragraph in most high school history text books, resulting in many college students unable to even comprehend the vast tragedy that occurred more than 70 years ago.
Here are five things that every college student can do today, and every day, in order to never forget -- and to ensure that another genocide will never occur again.
1) Attend a Holocaust Remembrance Day event on campus
Most college campuses' Jewish student organizations will host a day of remembrance for university students. If your school is not holding one, consider starting your own. Even if the memorial does not fall on the same day as the national Holocaust Remembrance Day, it will still be an excellent way to raise awareness on campus about the Holocaust and what students at your university can do in order to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and ensure that we never forget. Together with a club or organization that you are member of, organize anything from a large event with speakers ranging from professors who are knowledgeable on the subject, survivors, or third-generation students or a small candle-lighting memorial.
2) Take a course on the Holocaust
Again, most colleges will offer history courses on the Holocaust whether through the history or the Hebrew and Judaic departments. The course is a great way to learn an in-depth study of the Holocaust and the various targeted groups affected by the Nazis. A semester-long course will teach more than any textbook could, and this is an especially powerful way to learn about the tragedy for both those who are familiar with the history of World War II and the Holocaust, as well as those who have no prior background in the subject or area.
3) Visit a local Holocaust memorial museum
Today is the perfect day to visit your local Holocaust memorial museum. Major cities across the country from New York to Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles may boast some of the most famous memorial museums, however, there are lesser known museums nationwide. You can find a complete listing of Holocaust memorials and museums across the nation here. These memorial museums offer an array of artifacts from various concentration and death camps throughout Europe that didactically teach about Jewish life and culture before, during, and after the War. Some museums will even feature video stories from actual Holocaust survivors.
4) Read a Holocaust memoir/novel or watch a Holocaust movie
Whether historical accounts or fictional re-tellings, Holocaust-related books or movies are instrumental ways to learn more about the Holocaust in a condensed manner. Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, The Diary of Anne Frank, or semi-autographical novels such as Ruth Minsky's The Cage are tales that educate the reader of the first-person accounted terrors of the Holocaust. Movies such as the Steven Spielberg-directed Schindler's List starring Liam Neeson additionally allow for a visual retelling of one of the greatest stories of survival as well as the horror that thousands of others faced, while also teaching of the humanistic element that existed, if only in small measures, during the war.
5) Volunteer with Holocaust survivors
The best way to learn about the calamity of the Holocaust is via word-of-mouth from someone who lived through the tragedy themselves. Sadly, Holocaust survivors are a dwindling population, so it is more vital than ever to listen to their stories and keep their tales of survival alive for future generations. As a human being our biggest obligation today should be in preventing another genocide from ever occurring in the future and in doing so teaching our children and our children's children and our children's children's children about the tragedy that befell the world during World War II. Organizations such as iVolunteerNY match volunteers up with Holocaust survivors in your area who you can then assist in daily tasks while also learning their personal stories and histories. The best way to receive the most knowledge on the Holocaust in order to best commemorate the world-wide tragedy is to give back to those who were effected first-hand and to let them know that the world will never forget the horrors that they endured.