Giving Compass' Take:
- Russell Contreras writes about the importance of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 2025 International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
- How can donors support efforts to honor Holocaust survivors and victims and prevent events like the Holocaust in the future?
- Learn more about issues related to human rights.
- Search Guide to Good for nonprofits in your area.
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The number of Holocaust survivors globally has shrunk to 220,000 on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, according to a new estimate.
Why it matters: The anniversary, which also commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday, is likely the last major milestone with the presence of child survivors — the last generation of the Holocaust.
The big picture: Survivors are scheduled to speak at commemoration events around the world as advocates race to record their testimonies and as rising antisemitism and misinformation threatens to erase their stories.
- A small number of survivors are expected to speak at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum commemoration in Oświęcim, Poland.
- A handful of survivors will also be on hand at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Zoom in: About 220,000 Holocaust survivors are living across around 90 countries, according to data from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) shared with Axios.
- That's down from 245,000 reported last year.
- The vast majority (95%) are child survivors born between 1928 and 1946.
Zoom out: International Holocaust Remembrance Day seeks to bring attention to the Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews.
- Though it's held on the anniversary of the Soviet Red Army liberating Auschwitz, it's also meant to memorialize survivors at Nazi death camps across Europe during World War II.
The latest: The Claims Conference this month launched "I Survived Auschwitz: Remember This," a digital campaign featuring Holocaust survivors who endured the extermination camp.
- The survivors respond on video to the question: Given your experience as an Auschwitz survivor, what is one specific thing...do you want people to remember for generations to come?
- "As we lose survivors, it is our responsibility to listen to their voices and carry their stories forward," Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Claims Conference, said in a statement.
What they're saying: "I survived five concentration camps and ghettos —including Auschwitz. I know many people can't fathom what I have endured," survivor Aron Krell says in this testimony shared with Axios.
Read the full article about Holocaust Remembrance Day by Russell Contreras at Axios.