County Marks International
Holocaust Remembrance Day

On January 27, Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced that this day was the first time the County has marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day with five yellow panels across the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

 “It’s important to know the horrors inflicted in the Holocaust, which have been well-documented, must never be forgotten. This story must be told from generation to generation, so we never repeat the acceptance of hatred and genocide. We must make sure this never happens again,” Latimer said.

Executive Director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center Millie Jasper said, “This is so important to bring awareness and we are grateful to the County Executive for supporting proper Holocaust education in Westchester County.”

CEO of the Westchester Jewish Council Elliot Forchheimer added, “We say never again. Never again may the atrocities of the Holocaust be tolerated. Never again, not here, not there, not anywhere and not in our great County of Westchester.”

Other locations across New York State on January 27 were lit in yellow including Niagara Falls, Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and One World Trade Center.

The Westchester County Board of Legislators stated, “Today, we bow our heads in memory and sorrow. We will never forget the six million Jews and other victims who perished in that reign of terror. But we must do more than just remember. We must also vow to confront antisemitism, racism, religious bigotry, persecution relating to sexual orientation, and other kinds of hatred in the here and now. Let us never forget and let us never allow it to happen again.”

Established in 2005 by the United Nations, Holocaust Remembrance Day was designated on the day Allied troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. The day commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1945. This year is the 77th Anniversary of the day’s establishment