Since 1989 on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, B’nai B’rith International has been the North American sponsor of “Unto Every Person, There Is a Name” ceremonies.

Participants name the victims and where and when they were born and died. The ceremonies occur on the 27th day of the month of Nissan on the Jewish calendar. These observances, created by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, honor more victims each year, as the project collects more names.

B’nai B’rith International observed Holocaust Remembrance Day with its annual program “Unto Every Person There is a Name,” now in its 25th year. B’nai B’rith is the official North American sponsor of the program under the auspices of Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust Museum and research center in Jerusalem. Participants read the names of the victims of the Shoah, noting where and when they were born and where and when they were murdered by the Nazis. The ceremonies occur on the 27th day of the month of Nissan on the Jewish calendar. These observances honor more victims each year, as more names are collected in an international database maintained by Yad Vashem.

An international committee convened by Yad Vashem suggests a theme each year. This year’s Yom Hashoah theme is “Defiance and Rebellion during the Holocaust: 70 Years since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.” Alan Schneider, director of the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem, serves on the committee on behalf of B’nai B’rith. 

“Unto Every Person There is a Name” also directly involves Israeli President Shimon Peres. Peres penned a letter distributed to participating communities. In the letter Peres recognized the project’s 24th year, noting that the “ Unto Every Person There is a Name” project, allows each and every person to revive the memory of a Holocaust victim and restore their identity, thus commemorating the legacy of the rich and vibrant Jewish communities that thrived before their destruction at Nazi hands”.

>   Click here to continue reading about the 2013 program, as well as view videos and photos from ceremonies around the world. 

“Defiance and Rebellion during the Holocaust: 70 Years since the Warsaw   Ghetto Uprising” – Central theme for Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’  Remembrance Day 5773 

Monday, April 7, 2013 – 28 Nissan 5773

>   Attachment I – President’s Message
> Attachment II – 2014 Theme and Texts
>   Attachment III – anti-Semitism 2012
> Attachment IV – Recover Names of Shoah Victims
>   Attachment V – Zelda
> Attachment VI – Partial List of Hungarian Victims 

For further information contact    cji@bnaibrith.org or call 212-490-3290.

Efforts should be made at all events this year to have a survivor present personal testimony and talk about the importance for him/her of keeping the memory alive. This is also an opportunity to connect the second and third generation of survivors to your programs.

B’nai B’rith International through its Center for Jewish Identity and its World Center in Jerusalem is proud to be the North American sponsor of the program on behalf of Yad Vashem.  B’nai B’rith sponsorship is made possible by the generous support of Kurt and Tessye (of blessed memory) Simon.

These community events are held in public locations such as parks, government buildings, and at synagogues and Jewish community centers and college and university campuses.  We encourage communities to add the Unto Every Person program to Yom Hashoah observances.

Below you will find links to creative readings and other materials that can be used for the memorial observance, the names of the victims where they were born, where they died and their age at their death.  Each one of these names represents a unique person.  For many on the list, it is the only time their name will be said aloud as their entire family was murdered with them or the surviving family is now gone.  We are the ones left to remember.

As we gather to remember the victims, we also recognize the urgency of gathering oral histories and names of those victims that have not been recorded in the archives of Yad Vashem.  Directions and forms are available to assist with this process.

As in the past, we will be working in cooperation with the AEPi Jewish Fraternity for campus programming to link the Unto Every Person program to their annual Holocaust remembrance programming “Walk to Remember.”

We are available to assist you with your program. 

> Learn about the 2012  and  2011 programs.

> Theme Information
>   Theme Information – Additional Readings
> Lists of Names

> Candle Lighting Ceremony
>   Unto Every Person There Is A Name Poem
> Public Recitation of Names of Holocaust Victims
>   Prayer of Affirmation and Remembrance 

Click here or on the image below for information on AEPi’s We Walk to Remember program.

For more information about this project, contact the Center for Jewish Identity, 801 Second Avenue, 14th floor, New York, NY 10017, telephone 212-490-3290, fax 212-687-3429, email cji@bnaibrith.org.