International Holocaust Remembrance Day

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. As I did last year, I would like to honor the memory of my first cousin Nicholas' great-grandfather Isaac Birenzweig, his daughters, and any other family members of his that perished in the Holocaust. Isaac is listed on the B page of the necrology list of the WE REMEMBER TOMASZOW MAZOWIECKI! Web site. Isaac and his family were from was from Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland. They were among the 16,000 Jews from Tomaszów Mazowiecki were sent to Treblinka. 4,000 Jews were also killed locally.

Synagogue in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, built in 1864-1878. Image circa 1914-1918. Published 20 August 1927. „Echo Mazowieckie” 1927, R. 2, nr 33, s. 14. Public domain. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

On 1 November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 was adopted, and January 27 was designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The date was chosen because Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945. United Nations member states are encouraged to develop educational programs about the Holocaust which will honor the memory of the victims and will hopefully prevent genocide.

My first cousin Nicholas lost family members in the Holocaust. His great-grandfather Isaac (Yitschak) Birnsweig (or Birenzweig) was sent to Treblinka in 1942. Other members of Isaac's family were sent there as well. The family was from Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.  In November 1942, 16,000 Jews from Tomaszów Mazowiecki were sent to Treblinka, and 4,000 were killed locally.

My cousin's great-grandfather is listed under a variant spelling, Icchak Birencwjg, on the B page of the necrology list of the WE REMEMBER TOMASZOW MAZOWIECKI! Web site. Abraham Birencwajg, Mendil Birencwajg, and Mosze Birencwajg may be my cousin's relatives too. Icchak's daughters may be listed under married names.

Day 3: The "big stone" Monument in Treblinka. By Lidan from Beer Sheva, Israel [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]. Available from Flickr and Wikimedia Commons.

References
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on the Holocaust Remembrance (A/RES/60/7, 1 November 2005)
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: International Holocaust Remembrance Day
WE REMEMBER TOMASZOW MAZOWIECKI!