Upper School Recognizes International Holocaust Remembrance Day During Chapel

St. Margaret’s Upper School took time on Thursday to recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day during weekly Chapel.

 

Junior Wyatt Fales provided moving remarks at the Upper School Chapel, speaking on behalf of the Upper School’s Jewish affinity group in a speech written by himself with help from Andrew Welling, Jakes Reeves and Dean Woods. Wyatt shared a personal story about visiting Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, and spoke to his peers about how the Holocaust still resonates to this day.

 

“Due to the size of the Jewish community being so small, nearly every Jew you’ll meet in your lifetime will have some connection with a survivor or victim of the Holocaust,” Wyatt said. “Even though it was over 80 years ago, the events and lessons from the Holocaust are still very prevalent today.”

 

Wyatt also mentioned the importance of recognizing non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including the physically and mentally disabled, the Roma and Sinti, and the LGBTQ+ community.

 

International Holocaust Remembrance Day was designated for January 27 by The United Nations General Assembly as an annual day of commemoration to honor the six million victims of the Holocaust. January 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, one of the largest and most infamous camps of the Holocaust.