Hanukkah and the Holocaust
The story of Hanukkah is one of perseverance and survival, making connections with the Holocaust -- though a rather somber memory -- particularly fitting. For those of you interested in celebration of Hanukkah during the Holocaust, as well as contemporary commemoration of the Holocaust during Hanukkah, here are a few links:
An online photo gallery by Yad Vashem shows Hanukkah celebrations in Europe before World War II, in the ghettos and camps during the Holocaust, and in the displaced persons camps and children's homes after liberation.
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum also has photos and stories of Holocaust-era Hanukkah celebrations.
My post from last year includes a survivor's account of a Hanukkah ceremony in Bergen Belson concentration camp.
Torah scrolls rescued after Kristallnacht were rededicated on Friday night, the first night of Hanukkah, at a synagogue Nashville, Tennessee.
An American soldier who helped care for 2,500 Jews found, near-death, on an east-bound train at the time of liberation was invited to a special Hanukkah celebration by a congregation in Florida.
In Charleston, South Carolina, Holocaust survivors lit the giant menorah in the city's historic district.
[Photo from Wikimedia Commons.]







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