On January 27, 1945, Nazi Germany’s largest concentration and extermination camp – Auschwitz-Birkenau – was liberated. For many, Auschwitz came to represent the horrors inflicted by the Nazi regime and its systematic effort to annihilate Europe's Jewish population.

Decades later, January 27th, was established as International Holocaust Remembrance Day – a day when we remember and commemorate the six million Jews who perished, those who survived, and those precious survivors who are still with us.

Today’s Holocaust survivors are our heroes and most valuable teachers.

Just as we honor the memory of the six million Jews who were murdered, we must also honor and support those who survived. And time is running out. Most of the Holocaust survivors living in the US are over 85. And over one-third live in poverty. They deserve to live with comfort and dignity and to know that the stories of what they endured and the horrors of the Holocaust will be remembered so that they may never be repeated again.

Jewish Federations pledge to care for and learn from Holocaust survivors.

It’s a pledge that we live by, one that led us to launch the Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and develop the person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) approach to care. We’ve also raised and lobbied for federal funding to help survivors and advocated for the Never Again Holocaust Education Act.

We have a short window of time to hear first-hand from survivors. And there’s still so much for us to do. Here’s how you can help.

Hear a survivor telling their story.

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