Yad Vashem to launch virtual commemoration ‘wall’ for Holocaust Remembrance Day

Israel’s Holocaust museum Yad Vashem is launching a virtual commemoration “wall” in collaboration with Facebook to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Called the ‘IRemember Wall’ it will be accessible in six languages – English, Hebrew, French, Spanish, German, and Russian – to let the public learn the names and stories of just some of the six million killed.

From Sunday, each participant who joins the event will be randomly linked to one of the individuals recorded in Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, which today numbers more than 4.8 million.

The names of the participant and victim then appear together on the wall, prompting the victim’s story to be shared by the participant on social media.

“By partnering together with Facebook, we are able to reach a wider international audience, which is crucial to keeping the memory of the Jewish victims alive and the meanings of the Holocaust relevant in today’s complex reality,” said Iris Rosenberg, director of Yad Vashem’s Communications Division.

Last year, more than 85,000 victims were commemorated by people from 175 countries in their own languages, she said, making each participant an “ambassador of memory” responsible for promulgating the voices of those killed.

Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said she was “grateful for all that Yad Vashem does to honour the victims of the Holocaust, including this incredible project”.

She added: “Facebook is honoured to be a part of this project, helping to tell the story of the millions of women, men, and children murdered by the Nazis. They deserve to be remembered so this never happens again.”

• Visit theI  Remember Wall site here: https://iremember.yadvashem.org/