How social media is sharing hundreds of real-life stories from the Shoah

When it comes to the Holocaust, social media can be a platform for denial, but this month are being leveraged to inform, educate and raise awareness for this year’s special Holocaust Memorial Day.

Among the examples is ‘Stand Together’ by Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT), in which users share the name of someone killed by the Nazis.

Those visiting hmd.org.uk/StandTogether are given a name of a victim to share on their social media accounts, “standing together with thousands of others to honour the memory of individuals”.

HMDT is also using Twitter to share hundreds of real-life stories of those affected by the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and more recent genocides, as this “often reaches a completely different audience to those who would usually see this kind of content”.

Facebook is also getting involved. It has worked with Yad Vashem to promote the iRemember Wall on its platform. Each participant is randomly linked to the name of one of 4.8 million Jewish men, women and children in Yad Vashem’s archive. They can then share the individual they have been paired with via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Among the eye-catching efforts to get influencers and others to share posts is the ‘Stop this Story’ campaign. Participants write ‘Stop this story’ on their palm then post photos of themselves holding their hand out. Those joining in include model Bar Refaeli, actress Vanessa Kirby (from The Crown) and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (above).

“The best way to spread any message today is through social media,” said Moshe Kantor of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation and European Jewish Congress. “Instagram users are a significant demographic segment that is growing rapidly. Creating awareness of antisemitism is the first step necessary to stopping it.”