Shoah is a Hebrew word meaning catastrophe or devastation. Yom Hashoah was established by Israel as a yearly memorial day* for those who died in the Nazi holocaust in 1951 when the Knesset appointed the 27th of Nissan to be “Holocaust and ghetto revolt remembrance day” (Yom Hashoah U’Mered HaGetaot). This later became known as “Devastation and heroism day” (Yom Hashoah Ve Hagevurah), and, finally, Yom Hashoah.

In 1959 the Knesset made Yom Hashoah a national public holiday and in 1961 a law was passed that closed all public entertainment in Israel on the day. At ten in the morning, a siren is sounded where everyone stops what they are doing, pull over in their cars, and stand in remembrance.

Elsewhere Yom Hashoah is observed with candlelighting—often six to represent the six million Jews who died—speakers, poems, prayers, and singing. Holocaust survivors speak about their experiences or share in the readings; in some places people read from a compilation of names of those killed as a sign of respect and to keep their memory alive.

Visit the website of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority; see also the spotlight article The Poisoned Chalice.