Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, also called the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. This is the day Auschwitz was liberated. In 2005, the United Nations (UN) made this day an international day of commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The UN urges every member state to "honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides."

As one response to the UN call for education, the state of North Carolina enacted the Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act (NC Gen. Stat. 115C-81.57), which requires the Holocaust to be taught in public schools. This Act went into full effect Fall of 2023. North Carolina is one of 22 states in the United States requiring that the Holocaust be taught in the classroom. 

Take a moment on January 27, to remember the victims and the survivors of Auschwitz and the Holocaust, and join us for our annual memorial service.

A Service of Blessing for the Transfer of the Orphan Scroll on Holocaust Remembrance Day
Monday, January 27, 2025, from 5-6 p.m.
Anne Belk Hall Suite 250

Join us for a brief service of blessing as we transfer the Holocaust Orphan Scroll from the Temple of the High Country to the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies. The Orphan Scroll is one of many Torahs stolen by the Nazis and rediscovered after the war. It is called an orphan because there is no way to prove its origins, and today it is known as MST1387. The town that used this scroll is unknown, although it is thought to come from Czechoslovakia or Bohemia. It is fitting that this special scroll be honored on Holocaust Remembrance Day as it moves to the Center.

This event is free and open to the community. For a disability accommodation, visit odr.appstate.edu.