SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Members of the Jewish community read aloud the names of children who lost their lives in the Holocaust during a ceremony at the Springfield JCC on Monday.

One by one, the names of victims were read out, ranging from the oldest of 10 to the youngest, just one year old. Adam Solender, director of the Jewish Federation, said the ceremony honored the individuality of each victim. “There were 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust and this is just a small group of them…to remember their names and to give reverence to who they were and who they never had a chance to be,” he added.

The day is called Yom Hashoah, a Hebrew term that can be translated as “Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.” The lists contain just a fraction of the 1.5 million Jewish children who lost their lives in the Holocaust. A number that, if read continuously for 24 hours a day straight, would take up to 70 days to be read aloud.

Dozens of volunteers switched every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., reading the name, age and, if listed, where the child lived prior to their death — cities and towns all over Europe. The community ended the event with a screening that showcased local survivors. “This year in the Lower Valley, they are doing a film of four survivors who came to this region and who made their lives here post-World War II,” Solender noted.

The event served as an opportunity for reflection, remembrance and education, especially in a digital age of misrepresenting historical horrors like the Holocaust.

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