International Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated on January 27^th.  January 27, 2021 is the 76th anniversary of  the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration, the ending of World War ll and the ending of the Holocaust.  The theme guiding Holocaust remembrance and education in 2021 is “Facing the Aftermath: Recovery and Reconstitution after the Holocaust”. It focuses on the measures taken in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust to begin the process of recovery and reconstitution of individuals, community, and systems of justice. Integral to the process of reconstitution was the accurate recording of the historical account of what happened before and during the Holocaust. Challenging the denial and distortion of the historical events was interwoven in the processes of recovery and reconstitution. The theme examines the contribution of the responses to the victims of the Holocaust, and of the survivors, to addressing the needs of the contemporary world, and to the historical record of the Holocaust. Against a global context of rising antisemitism and increasing levels of disinformation and hate speech, Holocaust education and remembrance is even more urgent, as is the development of an historical literacy to counter repeated attempts to deny and distort the history of the Holocaust.

Many governments have legislated that January 27 is an annual Holocaust Memorial Day to mark the date as an international day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Holocaust. The day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on November 1, 2005. The Resolution establishing January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day urges every member nation of the U.N. to honor the memory of Holocaust victims, and encourages the development of educational programs about Holocaust history to help prevent future acts of genocide.

With the pandemic the following events will be virtual.

To read what the United Nations will be doing on January 21, 27,28, February 4 and February 11 for commemoration see: https://www.un.org/es/node/104969

To see what Yad Vashem is doing for International Holocaust Memorial Day see: https://www.yadvashem.org/remembrance/intl-remembrance-day.html

To see what the Wiener Holocaust Library in London, England will be doing see:

https://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/?location_id=15&item=600&itemoffset=0

Registration is required. It’s free.

House of European History

https://historia-europa.ep.eu/en/agenda/international-holocaust-remembrance-day-live-broadcast

To see what the US Holocaust Memorial Museum will be doing go to:

https://www.ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day

Social media #WeRemember

Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles

https://www.holocaustmuseumla.org/event-details/international-holocaust-remembrance-day

University of Michigan-Dearborn

https://umdearborn.edu/events/all-events/holocaust-commemoration-1272021

Holocaust Center for Humanity (Seattle, Washington)

https://holocaustcenterseattle.org/programs-events/631-international-holocaust-remembrance-day-2

Midwest Center for Holocaust Education

https://mchekc.org/event/international-holocaust-remembrance-day-commemoration/

(US) National Archives

https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/holocaust-remembrance-day

https://www.archives.gov/research/holocaust/images.html

There are many other venues that will hold commemoration activities. Please look locally for any activities in your area.

Some countries memorialize the Holocaust on other days, for example, Yom Hashoah in Israel and in the United States is commemorated on the 27th day of Nisan, the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah. In 2021 Yom Hashoah is observed on April 9 (starting sunset the evening before). 

Jan Meisels Allen

Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee

Many of us are familiar that the BRCA-2 gene mutation may cause breast cancer in women, but many do not also realize that it could also cause breast cancer and/or prostate cancer in men and also breast and ovarian cancer in women. An article in the British press, The Guardian, discusses the BRCA-2 and to some extent the BRCA-1 and PALB2 genes.

While the breast cancer diagnosis in men is substantially less than in women it is still something everyone should be aware of.  The gene mutation was discovered 25 years ago.  The variant can be inherited from either parent and can spread through lineages with devastating effect. “If a man inherits a pathogenic mutation in BRCA2, then, when he’s in his early 60s, we now know he will have a 20% chance of developing prostate cancer. That compares with the normal risk for that age of about 3%,” said Professor Rosalind Eeles, at the Institute of Cancer Research. “In addition, those cancers are a lot more aggressive than standard cases of prostate cancer.”

BRCA-2 is found on chromosome 13. There are two such chromosomes, one inherited from one’s mother the other from ones’ father. If one parent has a mutant BRCA2 gene there will be a 50-50 chance they will pass it on to one of their children.

According to The Guardian article, pathogenic versions of BRCA1 have a similar effect while abnormal versions of another gene known as PALB2 has also been found to increase risk. The prospect of getting breast cancer over an average lifetime for a woman is 12%. However, if they carry mutated versions of BRCA1 or BRCA2 that risk rises to around 70%. An abnormal version of PALB2 raises that risk to around 50%.

The story of the discovery of the gene variant in The Guardian is of interest as there are two BRCA genes and BRCA-1 when found researchers at first did not think there was a second gene.

The new European Union medical guidelines have recently recommended that men over the age of 40 who have a pathogenic BRCA2 mutation should be offered annual screening for prostate cancer.

To read the Guardian article see:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/10/how-race-to-track-mystery-gene-with-links-to-three-cancers-saved-millions

The consumer direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies test for the three most common variants-but there are other variants that these DNA tests do not test for. there are more than 1,000 other known BRCA mutations, and dozens of other genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer." A  negative result does not rule out someone is a mutation carrier. Any positive test should be confirmed and the patient should undergo genetic counseling. See: https://www.acog.org/Clinical-Guidance-and-Publications/Practice-Advisories/Practice-Advisory-Response-to-FDAs-Authorization-of-BRCA1-and-BRCA2-Genes-Direct-to-Consumer-Testing

Jan Meisels Allen

Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee