One at a time, have students read three names from this list from Yad Vashem. As they go through, have them read out the person’s family name, first name, as well as where they were killed.

Watch this video on Remembrance by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM).

1. What is commemoration? Why is it important?
2. Why is name reading used in commemoration?
3. How long would it take a single person to read the first and last names of 6 million victims? Can you guess?

The answer: It would take a single person over 1,538 hours, or 64 days straight.

When else are name readings used? Do they serve the same purpose?

Writing activity: Have students write a letter to a Holocaust survivor. Share the resource, Meet Holocaust Survivors by the USHMM and provide them with the instructions below:

1. Look through the list of survivors and choose one you would like to write to.
2. Read through their bio to learn more about their story.
3. Write a letter for this person. Themes you can consider as you write: bravery, strength, and how their memory will not be forgotten.

Ask the class, how does reading a survivor’s story commemorate their memory and the memories of those that lost their lives?

Ask students, what is commemoration? Then ask, what purpose do monuments and memorials serve?

As a class, read through the Visual Essay: Holocaust Memorials and Monuments by Facing History and Ourselves and look through the pictures of the memorials featured.

After you go through the reading, go over the Connection Questions found at the bottom of the page. You may choose to do these as a class or have the students discuss them in small groups of three to five people.

Distribute the Creating a Memorial worksheet to each of your students. As this last activity asks students to reflect in depth, you may consider giving students the opportunity to work on their memorial at home. You may also want to give students the option to create their memorials in pairs, allowing them an opportunity to share ideas and concepts. Some teachers will ask students to create a physical model of the memorial they have conceptualized. If able, provide materials such as construction paper, clay, or paint to work on their memorials.

Collect memorials created by your class as a class project. These memorials can then be used as examples when carrying out this lesson for future classes. If doing physical models, you may consider taking a photo of the model to collect instead of holding onto the physical ones.

Start off by reading this story to the class:

When Rebbe Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, saw the Jewish people were threatened by tragedy, he would go to a particular place in the forest where he lit a fire, recited a particular prayer, and the miracle was accomplished, averting the tragedy.

Later, when the Baal Shem Tov’s disciple the Maggid of Mezrich had to intervene with heaven for the same reason, he went to the same place in the forest, where he told the Master of the Universe that while he did not know how to light the fire, he could still recite the prayer, and again, the miracle was accomplished.

Later still, Rebbe Leib of Sasov, in turn, a disciple of the Maggid of Mezrich, went into the forest to save his people. “I do not know how to light the fire,” he said to God, “and I do not know the prayer, but I can find the place and that must be sufficient.” Once again, the miracle was accomplished.

When it was the turn of Rebbe Israel of Rizhyn, the great-grandson of the Maggid of Mezrich who was named after the Baal Shem Tov, to avert the threat, he sat in his armchair, holding his head in his hands, and said to God: “I am unable to light the fire, I do not know the prayer, and I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is tell the story. That must be enough.” And it was enough.

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, author, and professor, used this story to explain how someone who has little to no connection with the past, can still be a custodian of memory. Wiesel said that, “Like the Rebbe of Rizhyn, we may not know how to light the fire, we may not know the prayer, and we may not know the place in the forest. Our connection to the past is weak; it may be distant, at a remove. All we can do is tell the story, and we must. But in order to tell the story, we must first hear the story.”

Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom by Ariel Burger (Pg. 31-32)

Direct students to the resource, Elie Wiesel: Days of Remembrance Excerpts, from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Divide the class into groups of three. Assign each group an excerpt from one of the years: 2001, 2002, 2003, or 2004. It is fine that groups will have repeat excerpts.

As students get together with their groups, provide them with the instructions below. Give students 15-20 minutes for this.

1. Read through the excerpt you have been assigned with your group.
2. Rewrite the passage in your own words.
3. Choose one line that resonates with you the most. Why is it so powerful?

Reconvene as a class and open the class to a discussion with the questions below:

1. Why is it important to remember the Holocaust?
2. Think back to the story from the beginning of the class. What does it mean to be a custodian of memory?