The sophomore civil and environmental engineering major and Jewish studies minor lights a candle during a Holocaust vigil event at the Colony Ballroom at the Stamp Student Union on Sunday, April 27.

More than 80 students were met yesterday afternoon with a timeline of posters hung on a black canvas. The last poster in the line read, “We cannot change the past, instead we must use it to change the future. Never forget.”

Last night marked the start of Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began at sundown and ends at sundown today. The university’s Jewish Student Union held a Holocaust Vigil featuring silence, prayer and candles from noon to 2 p.m. in Stamp Student Union.

The remembrance day is a time to reflect on and honor those who passed away in the Holocaust during World War II, including the 6 million Jews who died as a result of Nazi forces, said Josh Gilstein, JSU president. 

“Every year, there’s some kind of programming, but this is the first in a few years that we’ve done the Holocaust Vigil right on or right before Yom HaShoah,” the senior biology major said. “It’s more impactful.”

This year, the annual event featured a guest speaker, Holocaust survivor Israel Gruzin.

“It makes me feel good that young people like you like to listen to stories,” Gruzin said to the crowd. “It’s not a very good memory, but we shouldn’t forget.”

Gruzin, who was born in Lithuania but immigrated to Baltimore in 1955, described his life before the war and told several stories about his time in ghettos and concentration camps as a young boy. He also talked about his family and his memories of events that occurred during the war.

“This was their life,” said Anna Koozmin, JSU social action chairwoman. “I’m sure every story triggers another story. … Those stories will stick with you.”

The sophomore community health major said stories from a survivor can leave a lasting impression on an attentive audience.

JSU volunteers led a dozen groups of students in discussions, in which the participants talked about their reactions to Gruzin’s speech and how the Holocaust relates to current events and nations that still exhibit widespread discrimination and violence.

Students don’t often talk about the Holocaust with one another, Koozmin said, and the JSU aims to create a safe environment where people can voice their thoughts. 

The students also discussed how memories of all persecuted populations in the Holocaust are kept alive and how they personally relate to the events.  

“I just think it’s important to have set times during the year to remember your history,” junior biology major Ariel Siegel said to her table during the discussion. “It kind of helps you remember what’s going on because you’re not thinking about the Holocaust every day of the year.”

Siegel said events such as the remembrance day remind her why she is proud of her background and why Judaism is important to her. Having people around her who feel the same way is vital, Siegel said, and others at her table contributed and listened.

At the end of the vigil, people at each table lit a series of candles, and everyone recited a memorial prayer for Yom HaShoah, followed by the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer, led by Rabbi Jessica Lott from this university’s Hillel. 

The JSU put together timeline posters equipped with photos, descriptions and dates to educate students about events that took place during World War II. Koozmin said she learned about the Holocaust growing up in Hebrew school and classes. But there’s so much more that people don’t know, she said, and the posters emphasized when events occurred and the real meaning of the Holocaust.

The JSU is holding a candle-lighting ceremony from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today in front of McKeldin Library. Members of the campus Jewish community will read a list of about 5,000 names of people who died during the Holocaust.

“It’s basically more symbolic,” Koozmin said. “To keep these names alive, to keep these identities alive, to keep the hopes and dreams alive of the people who those names belong to.”