JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Wednesday, January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day – a time to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of survivors who lived through the Nazi regime.
“My parents were both survivors. My father was a survivor of a labor brigade, so he was actually enslaved for 4 years. From when he was not even 21 to almost 25,” said Gloria Einstein.
Gloria Einstein remembering how her parents were affected by the holocaust.
Einstein is a second-generation holocaust survivor and as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, she encourages people to not forget the past.
Gloria says remembering the past is a crucial part of healing and making sure future generations don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
“We forget what happened in Rwanda, we forget what happened to the Armenians you know that wasn’t that long ago. And it’s very important to remember these things and then to build into our society as well into our own thoughts and consciousness what it takes to prevent it,” said Einstein.
Currently, there are more than 100 holocaust survivors right here in the River City.
Jewish Family and Community Services is hosting free, live virtual tours of its Frisch Family Holocaust Memorial Gallery.
It’s a creative and safe way for the non-profit to still educate the community on this day.
“Almost daily we meet people that haven’t heard of the holocaust, that don’t understand what happened during that time period in history, so don’t even believe that the holocaust happened, and so as we built relationships and come to know our survivors it’s important that people know them, hear their stories, hear what happened. History has a way of repeating itself if you don’t get educated about it. It was a horrific time in our history, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” said Colleen Rodriquez, CEO of Jewish Family and Community Services.
Remembering a time that reshaped the lives of millions of people and generations, one virtual tour at a time.
For more information on the Frisch Family Holocaust Memorial Gallery and virtual tours, click here.