Community Corner

Worcester Will Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day With Flag Raising

The day of remembrance, Yom Hashoah​, will feature a flag raising at City Hall commemorating the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

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April 19, 2022: Warsaw residents and government officials lay daffodils at the monument for the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising fighters on the 79th anniversary of the ghetto's ill-fated struggle against the German troops.
April 19, 2022: Warsaw residents and government officials lay daffodils at the monument for the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising fighters on the 79th anniversary of the ghetto's ill-fated struggle against the German troops. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day — also called Yom Hashoah — on Thursday with a flag raising ceremony at City Hall.

Yom Hashoah is the annual day of remembrance for the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, and also commemorates the Warsaw ghetto uprising — the day in April 1943 when Jewish fighters in the Polish capital fought back against German troops, who had arrived to deport the residents to concentration camps.

The Jewish resistance fighters held the Germans off for about a month, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. About 7,000 Jews died during the fight, and another 7,000 were eventually deported to concentration camps.

The Worcester City Council on Tuesday declared April 28 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Worcester. A replica of the flag of the Warsaw ghetto uprising fighters will be raised over City Hall in a ceremony beginning at 5:30 p.m. led by At-Large Councilor Morris Bergman.

"As time marches on, it's more important to not forget things in the past that could easily happen in the future," Bergman said at Tuesday's city council meeting.

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