WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Keller Army Community Hospital (KACH) Soldiers and civilian employees honored those who lost their lives during the Holocaust with a Day of Remembrance-Holocaust Name Reading, April 18.
Each year, during the month of April, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum leads the nation in commemorating the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.
"The Jewish and non-Jewish individuals who were murdered between 1939 and 1945 did not have a proper burial. On this day we read their names aloud so they will be remembered," said Staff Sgt. Glen Cassady, KACH Equal Opportunity representative.
This year's theme, "Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue," commemorates the actions of rescuers during the Holocaust. The stories of ordinary people who chose to intervene and help rescue Jews, despite the risks, demonstrate that individuals have the power to make a difference.
As part of the name reading ceremony, Keller Soldiers and civilian employees volunteered 15 minutes of their day to read the names of individuals who were killed during the Holocaust.
"It is important that we remember the people who were sacrificed during this tragic period of history and hope history never repeats itself," said Gail Chiavaroli, KACH executive assistant.
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.
Remembrance not only obligates us to memorialize those who were killed during the holocaust, but it also reminds us of the fragility of democracy and the need for citizens to be vigilant in the protection of democratic ideals.
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