Holocaust Remembrance Day 5785: Yad Vashem events tonight and tomorrow

Holocaust Remembrance Day will take place tonight (Wednesday) April 23-24, 2025. The eve of Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day will open with the state opening ceremony at the Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 20:00.

At the ceremony, President of Israel Yitzhak Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak. Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan will light the Memorial Torch. For information on the ceremony’s theme, “From the Depths: The Pain of Liberation and Renewal” – marking 80 years since Nazi Germany’s surrender.

During the ceremony, six torches will be lit by Holocaust survivors:

A survivor’s address will be given by Holocaust survivor Eva Urban.

Yad Vashem, in collaboration with the Shem VeNer Association, will also hold a memorial candle-lighting ceremony in the Tent of Remembrance. Attendees of the ceremony will be invited to light a memorial candle bearing the name of a Holocaust victim in the Tent of Remembrance before entering the ceremony.

Tomorrow (Thursday) Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, the public is invited to visit Yad Vashem, receive a memorial candle bearing the details of a Holocaust victim, and light it in the Warsaw Ghetto Square from 11:00 to 16:30.

For the third year, Yad Vashem will hold the event “Every Person Has a Song: Singing Together, Remembering Forever.” The televised song broadcast, filmed at Yad Vashem, includes new arrangements of well-known Holocaust and remembrance songs, as well as videos telling stories of the pain of liberation, renewal, and survivors’ choice to embrace life.

“Every Person Has a Song – Singing Together, Remembering Forever” will air on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 23:00 on Kan 11.

10:00: Two-minute moment of silence siren

10:02: Wreath-laying ceremony:

The state ceremony, attended by the Prime Minister, Knesset Speaker, Supreme Court President, Holocaust survivors, representatives of survivor organizations, and more.

11:00-12:45: “Every Person Has a Name” at Yad Vashem and the Knesset:

A ceremony for reading the names of Holocaust victims and laying wreaths by the public. Held at the Tent of Remembrance at Yad Vashem and simultaneously at the Knesset, under the auspices of the Knesset Speaker.

11:00-16:30: Memorial candle lighting, Warsaw Ghetto Square in collaboration with the Shem VeNer Association.

Visitors to Yad Vashem will be offered personal memorial candles to light in the Warsaw Ghetto Square. Each candle commemorates a victim, displaying their details alongside a scannable barcode that allows for a deeper connection to their life story.

12:00: “Touching Memory” theater performances, Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem invites the public to the play “Leo Haas: Painter of Truth and Lies,” telling the story of painter Leo Haas, whose artworks served as testimony in the Eichmann trial. The play will be performed at the “Touching Memory” theater at Yad Vashem at 12:00 and 13:30.

Entry on Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day is free but requires pre-registration on the Yad Vashem website.

12:00: Guided tour behind the scenes of the Shapell Collections Center, Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem invites the public for a rare glimpse into its new Collections Center. The center houses all of Yad Vashem’s collections, and the tour will reveal the moving stories behind Holocaust-era artifacts.The tour will take place at 12:00 and 13:30.

Entry on Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day is free but requires pre-registration on the Yad Vashem website.

13:00: Memorial ceremony, Tent of Remembrance

13:30: Guided tours for the public, Holocaust History Museum, Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem invites the public to join guided tours in Hebrew and English at the Holocaust History Museum. The tour will focus on the annual theme of Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, “From the Depths: The Pain of Liberation and Renewal,” and will highlight the complex challenges faced by survivors after liberation, the process of recovery, and the struggle to build new lives.

The tour will combine historical events with the moving personal stories behind the testimonies, artifacts, artworks, and photographs displayed in the museum. The tour is suitable for ages 14 and up.

Entry is free but requires pre-registration on the Yad Vashem website.

17:00: Youth movements rally, Warsaw Ghetto Square, Yad Vashem

A rally with hundreds of youth movement members.

The survivors’ address will be given by Holocaust survivor Tzila Lanczycki, and the Memorial Torch will be lit by Holocaust survivor Shmuel Eliraz. The rally will include Education Ministry Director-General Meir Shimoni, Yad Vashem Director-General Zvika Feiraisen, and Youth Movements Secretary-General Naftali Deri.

The rally is organized by Yad Vashem in collaboration with the Council of Youth Movements and the Society and Youth Administration in the Education Ministry.

17:00: Generations of Continuity Association event in collaboration with Yad Vashem

Yad Labanim House, Ramat HaSharon, an event on the theme “The Pain of Liberation and Renewal,” marking 80 years since Nazi Germany’s surrender.