WASHINGTON, PA (April 12, 2018)—Washington & Jefferson College’s (W&J) chapter of Hillel is marking Yom HaShoah (commonly referred to as Holocaust Remembrance Day) with a somber observance of the horrors suffered by Jewish people during the Holocaust.
The club quietly shared nearly a thousand victim and survivor stories with the general student population, inserting them into student mailboxes to encourage their peers to remember these victims as individuals rather than statistics found in a history book.
“While this is a simple action, we hope it will be impactful for those that receive them,” said Jake Harrison ’18, president of Hillel at W&J. “We hope it may also be symbolic of the level of confusion and dismay that over 6,000,000 Jews and over 11,000,000 total victims felt upon being rounded up and persecuted.”
The stories the organization shared were provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C., and can be found on the USHMM website.
“Yom HaShoah is a somber day of reflection, remembrance, and a solemn reminder of the vulgarity that unchecked hatred and prejudice may lead to,” Jake said. “We hope to imbue the words that have been engraved in stone and etched into the psyche of our people: remember.”
About Hillel
Hillel is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world and has chapters at more than 550 colleges and universities across the globe. Hillel welcomes Jewish students of all backgrounds, fostering a personal connection to Jewish life, learning and Israel.
About Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, Pa., is a selective liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional arts and sciences curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work. For more information about W&J, visit washjeff.dev, or call 888-W-AND-JAY.
