KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- As we move forward during these trying times, Kirtland continues to recognize the past and honor the Days of Remembrance, April 21, 2020. Traditionally we would pay homage with guest speakers, historic displays, and coming together; however, with social distancing and isolation being the key to a healthy nation, each of us can spend time to remember and appreciate what the future has to bring.
Why do we recognize Days of Remembrance?
Over the course of four years, between five and six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. The U.S. Congress established Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust.
Who was affected?
Though the Nazis primarily targeted the Jews for persecution, Gypsies, people with disabilities, homosexuals, communists, socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses and some Slavic peoples were also targeted under the Nazis regime.
How many were killed?
By the end of World War II, 6 million European Jews were dead - more than 1 million of them were children, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Between 1942 and 1944, Nazi Germany deported millions more Jews from occupied territories to extermination camps. At the largest killing center, Auschwitz-Birkenau, transports of Jews arrived almost daily from across Europe.
Although we could not host an event this year, you can learn more about Days of Remembrance at https://www.ushmm.org/remember/days-of-remembrance.
(Information from www.vshmm.org was used in this article.)