Greeley City Council honors Holocaust survivors with Days of Remembrance

A group of child survivors behind a barbed wire fence at the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland, on the day of the camp's liberation by the Red Army, on Jan. 27, 1945. Photo taken by Red Army photographer Captain Alexander Vorontsov during the making of a film about the liberation of the camp. The children were dressed in adult uniforms by the Russians. The children are (left to right): Tomy Schwarz (later Shacham), Miriam Ziegler, Berta Weinhaber (later Bracha Katz), Ruth Webber, Paula Lebovics, Marta Weiss (later Wise), Erika Winter (later Dohan), Eva Weiss (later Slonim), Robert Schlesinger (front, later Shmuel Schelach), Gabor Hirsch, Gabriel Neumann, and Eva Mozes Kor. (Photo by Alexander Vorontsov/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) — A group of child survivors behind a barbed wire fence at the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland, on the day of the camp’s liberation by the Red Army, on Jan. 27, 1945. Photo taken by Red Army photographer Captain Alexander Vorontsov during the making of a film about the liberation of the camp. The children were dressed in adult uniforms by the Russians. The children are (left to right): Tomy Schwarz (later Shacham), Miriam Ziegler, Berta Weinhaber (later Bracha Katz), Ruth Webber, Paula Lebovics, Marta Weiss (later Wise), Erika Winter (later Dohan), Eva Weiss (later Slonim), Robert Schlesinger (front, later Shmuel Schelach), Gabor Hirsch, Gabriel Neumann, and Eva Mozes Kor. (Photo by Alexander Vorontsov/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

By Tyler Duncan | tduncan@prairiemountainmedia.com

PUBLISHED: April 5, 2025 at 6:00 AM MDT

In memory of Holocaust victims and survivors, the Greeley City Council has proclaimed the week of April 6-13 as the Days of Remembrance.

The Holocaust was a state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of the European Jewish population by Nazi Germany and its collaborators that took place from 1933-1945. While Jewish and Roma people were the primary victims, with 6 million Jewish people murdered, other groups such as the Polish, people with disabilities, gay men, Jehovah’s Witnesses and many more also suffered under Nazi tyranny.

“We, the people of Greeley, should always remember the terrible events of the Holocaust and remain vigilant against hatred, persecution and tyranny,” Mayor Pro Tem Dale Hall said. “Well-educated communities can promote the ability to respond effectively to hateful speech and to prevent actions based on hate.”

The frequency of hate crimes has risen since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, with more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents and a 69% rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian incidents.

In response to the challenge of racism, bigotry and intolerance, the state of Colorado requires that each school district’s board of education and charter schools include a course in Holocaust and genocide studies as a requirement to graduate high school. The hope is that this offers an opportunity to reflect on the moral responsibilities of individuals, societies, organizations and governments, which the city of Greeley is also looking to do.

“We should actively rededicate ourselves to the principles of democracy in a just society,” Hall said. “The Days of Remembrance have been set aside for the people of Greeley to remember the victims of the Holocaust and to reflect upon the importance of respect regarding other people.”

Throughout the week, the Holocaust Memorial Observances of Greeley and Northern Colorado will host events including a memorial service, films and presentations from a survivor.