This year Holocaust remembrance week is April 15-22, 2012. In 1980, Congress unanimously passed legislation that recommended and established a week as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust. Last year the Days of Remembrance were May 1 through May 8.

The dates of the week change each year so that the week includes Yom Hashoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day which is observed according to the Hebrew calendar. Since the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar the dates change from year to year.

This year Yom Hashoah falls on April 19 and the week’s theme designated by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is “Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue.”

You can watch live coverage of the National Days of Remembrance ceremony held in Washington D.C. on April 19, at 10 a.m. CST.

Locally you can attend four events sponsored by Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.

April 17, 2 p.m., Ellis Library
One Survivor’s Story: Holocaust survivor Guenter Goldsmith will speak about his experience in the Holocaust. A Q&A and reception will follow his presentation.

April 18, 7 p.m., Hillel Center
Modern Day Genocide: Professor Béa Gallimore will lead a discussion on modern genocide following a screening of “Sometimes in April,” a film about the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

April 19, 7 p.m., Hillel Center
Christian Rescuers: Nancy Tunick a cantorial soloist and composer will present “Songs for the Unsung,” a multimedia presentation about Christian rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. A reception will follow the presentation.

Friday, April 20, 6 p.m., Hillel Center
Second Generation Survivor: David Halpern, a father of a Mizzou student, will speak about his mother’s experience surviving the Holocaust. Hillel will also host a Holocaust remembrance Shabbat, followed by their weekly Shabbat dinner.