Friday marks 78 years since the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz in 1945, as well as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the time to honor the millions of lives lost at the hands of Nazi Germany.

Jan. 27 was chosen as the day for International Holocaust Remembrance as Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Union in 1945 on that date. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi death camp located in Poland where at least 1.1 million people were killed.

Today, Jill and I pause to mourn the lives of those murdered during the Holocaust.

We’ll continue to face down the hate and lies that carry terrifying echoes of one of the worst chapters in our history.

And for generations to come, we will defend dignity for all human beings.

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 27, 2023

Six million Jewish people were killed by the Nazis during WWII, along with 5 million from other persecuted groups including the Roma and Sinti people, homosexuals and the mentally or physically disabled, among others. Holocaust Memorial Day also remembers people killed in the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

In 2019 the Congregation Beth Shalom unveiled their Holocaust Memorial sculpture in Santa Clarita during Holocaust Memorial Week. The steel sculpture has three pillars broken up into eight pieces to represent the broken links created by the Holocaust.

At the time, Rabbi Ron Hauss stated how remembering the Holocaust is becoming increasingly more difficult as the last of the survivors with their first-hand accounts age and die.

“We are in a transitional period,” said Hauss at the sculpture reveal in 2019.“The last of the survivors are aging and will soon no longer be with us. We are moving swiftly from living history to historical memory. The impact of the Holocaust is still being felt around the world, and memorials like this one keep the memory alive.”

In February of 2020, three Holocaust survivors shared their story of captivity with over 900 students at Valencia High School. Each of their stories can be found here.

Today, we honor & remember the millions who lost their lives in the Holocaust. May we continue to stand up for victims of human rights abuses & work to eradicate antisemitism worldwide. Those lost during that truly dark time shall never be forgotten #HolocaustRemembranceDay

— Rep. Mike Garcia (@RepMikeGarcia) January 27, 2023

The theme of 2023 Holocaust Memorial Day is “Ordinary People,” according to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

“Our theme this year, though, highlights the ordinary people who let genocide happen, the ordinary people who actively perpetrated genocide, and the ordinary people who were persecuted,” stated the trust. “Our theme will also prompt us to consider how ordinary people, such as ourselves, can perhaps play a bigger part than we might imagine in challenging prejudice today.”

Traditionally on Holocaust Memorial Day, people across the nation light candles and place them in their windows at 4 p.m. Important buildings and landmarks are also lit up in purple to mark a national commemoration and solidarity

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