Observing Holocaust Remembrance Day

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorates the persecution and deaths of approximately six million Jewish lives. In 2023, the memorial day is observed from sundown on Monday, April 17, to sundown on Tuesday, April 18. Leading up to Yom HaShoah, several history courses are studying the events and the effects of the Holocaust, including in Matt Karis’ and Leslie Brannigan’s class, “Human Rights.”

After researching the Holocaust, students were tasked with choosing a photo from their own history— such as a family photo or memory from childhood. Using the archives from The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, they searched for images that were dated before 1939 and that paralleled their own. To narrow down their search, students used keywords and phrases like “three sisters,” “birthday,” and “snow.” For Kitty He ’23, the visual nature of this activity gave her a new perspective when learning about the Holocaust.

“When you can actually see something, you can more directly feel what’s going on. It left me with a deeper understanding of the Holocaust,” says He.

Another part of the project is focusing on the location of the photo taken prior to the Holocaust; some students found that the towns no longer exist. Brannigan noted that Tabor’s international student population added an interesting frame of reference to the project. In her class, students brought in their own photos from around the world— like Korea, Belgium, and Columbia. Patience Edosa ’24, for example, chose an image of her and her family in Nigeria, as seen below.

“The project shows how alike we are to these people. Despite having different backgrounds, different religions, and different cultures, they are people. They are like us, and most of the people suffered in these photos,” says Edosa.

Several students agreed with Edosa that this assignment personalized the Holocaust. By comparing the two photographs side-by-side, the class connected themselves with the victims of the holocaust and depicted the similarities and differences between then and now. Like in the images of the two children riding bikes below, some comparisons showed striking resemblances.

“In one image, you see a Jewish family and know they later experienced tragedy. That juxtaposed with your own family photo makes you think, ‘What if something like that were to happen now,’” reflects Tati Rodriguez ’24.

Tabor Academy will observe Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, with a candlelight vigil in Wickenden Chapel. View more student work in the slideshow below.