The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust is being marked today. The International Holocaust Memorial Day was established by the UN General Assembly Resolution of November 1, 2005. The document was initiated by Russia, Israel, Ukraine, the US and more than 90 other countries.
It commemorates the genocide that resulted in the death of an estimated 6 million Jewish people.
On 27 January 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp, was liberated by the Red Army.
The UN General Assembly Resolution urges every member nation of the UN to honor the memory of Holocaust victims, and encourages the development of educational programs about Holocaust history to help prevent future acts of genocide. It rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an event and condemns all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief.
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme was established under General Assembly resolution and has developed an international network of civil society groups and a multi-faceted programme that includes: innovative online educational products, youth outreach, DVDs, seminars and training programmes, a film series, book signings, a permanent exhibit at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, and the annual worldwide observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
The term "Holocaust" is derived from the ancient Greek word "Holokauston," referring to a sacrifice in which the whole (olos) animal is burnt (kaustos) to its entirety. First used by Holocaust survivor, author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Eli Wiesel in reference to Nazi gas chambers and crematoriums, the term became widely used in the late 1970s.
The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow is holding the annual ceremony of lighting candles.
