10 May Yom HaShoah: Honouring Memory, Rebuilding Hope
Today, we remember.
We remember six million Jewish men, women, and children who were murdered simply for being Jewish. Yad Vashem’s theme this year is *the anguish of liberation and rebirth*, marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.
And so, this year we pay special attention to the survivors – the She’erit Hapleta, the surviving remnant – who emerged from the ashes and rebuilt their lives, sometimes in extraordinary conditions. They showed resilience and determination.
Abba Kovner described it powerfully:
On that day, the remnant came out, two from a city, one from a village. A woman and her child came out of a bunker under the ruins. A man came out of a sewer. Survivors came out of the forests of the partisans. The rescued came out of Auschwitz… They stood among heaps of ashes, a flaming stone in their hearts.”
The war in Europe ended in May 1945. The world celebrated. Cities were in ruins, but there was music, parades, relief.
But not for the Jews. For them, the end of the war came too late. Liberation didn’t bring joy — it brought silence. Emptiness. A search for names that would never appear on any list of survivors.
People came out from hiding, from forests, from camps. And what they found was that entire communities — entire worlds — had disappeared. They returned home, hoping for comfort, and instead met hostility, even violence. In Poland alone, over 1,500 Jews were murdered after the war ended. The Kielce pogrom, in 1946, saw 42 Jews killed — some the only survivors of their families.
So many survivors realized they couldn’t stay in Europe. There was no going back. Instead, they joined the Bricha — the escape. Risking everything, they crossed borders illegally and became part of the Ha’apala movement, run by the Haganah, which worked to bring Jews to Eretz Israel. Sadly, many of the boats were intercepted by the British, and the passengers were sent to detention camps in Cyprus, Eritrea, and even within Israel itself. Despite these obstacles, they remained determined to reach the land they longed for. Others sought to rebuild their lives in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia — anywhere that might offer a sense of safety and a fresh start.
In the displaced persons camps — many of which were built on the very sites of former concentration camps — something remarkable happened, as shown in the clip played in the background at our ceremony. Survivors began to rebuild their lives. They opened schools, published newspapers, celebrated weddings, gave testimonies, formed youth movements — they began again.
Not everyone could. Some were too broken, too haunted, and their pain never healed. But many did rebuild, and they didn’t just survive — they gave back. They helped shape medicine, law, politics, education, Torah life, literature, culture. They gave meaning to memory.
One survivor later wrote:
“We did not wallow in despair. We did not lose faith in humankind. From the horror engraved in our flesh, we wish to offer a message – a message of humanity, of human dignity, of human decency.”
Today, in many places, the word Jew is being erased from discussions of the Holocaust. We hear about “victims” without acknowledging who the victims were. I attended a Holocaust education conference last year with 240 delegates from 40 countries — all committed to teaching the Shoah. That was the good news. The sad part was how many educators declined the invitation, stating that due to the plight of the Palestinians, they could no longer teach about the Holocaust. These words came from people who had visited Yad Vashem and had seen the evidence firsthand.
So, I urge you today — not just to mourn, but to listen. To remember. And to carry the legacy forward. We are fortunate to have Holocaust survivors among us who can still bear witness. But we don’t know how much longer that will be possible. We wish them all good health, until 120.
hose of us who are descendants of survivors have seen both the deep anguish and the unwavering will to rebuild. We must remember that memory isn’t only about looking back — it’s about deciding what kind of world we want to create.
May we be worthy of their resilience, their courage, and their hope.
Holocaust Education Across Year Levels: A Journey Through Memory
Students at Yavneh marked Yom HaShoah this year through a meaningful program that reflected on the theme of survival and rebirth. Each year level took part in an activity that offered a different lens through which to understand the Holocaust and its aftermath.
Year 7 – Values Expressed in the Holocaust
Students explored the values that sustained individuals even in the face of death, such as kindness, hope, and moral courage. Through discussion, they reflected on how the human spirit endured against the odds.
Year 8 – Stars Without a Heaven: Children in the Holocaust
This moving session focused on children who were victims of the Holocaust. Through their poems, letters, drawings, and toys, students were inspired by their creativity and optimism despite the harshness of their reality.
Year 9 – Rabbi Ephraim Oshry’s Responsa
Students learned about the complex halachic and ethical questions faced by Jews in the Kovno Ghetto. This session highlighted how religious life and moral decision-making continued even under extreme conditions.
Year 10 – These Are My Last Words & Every Person Has a Name
Students examined final messages left behind by victims, gaining insight into how they made sense of their fate. They also participated in the *Every Person Has a Name* ceremony, where each student was matched with the name of a child who perished, personalising the loss and reinforcing the importance of remembrance.
Year 11 – Women in the Holocaust
The session focused on the resilience and resourcefulness of women during the Holocaust, celebrating the stories of those who held families together, resisted tyranny, and retained their sense of self in dehumanising conditions.
Year 12 – The Legacy of Janusz Korczak
Students learned about the values and humanity of Janusz Korczak through poetry and art. These artistic mediums allowed students to access the emotional core of his legacy and consider the enduring power of compassion and moral leadership.
Through these programs, our students not only remembered — they reflected, questioned, and learned how to carry memory forward with responsibility and respect.
Sonia Slonim, Head of Humanities & Social Sciences
