ATLANTA — Seventy-eight years on Friday, more than 7,000 people were freed when the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
January 27, 1945, signified a step toward the end of the Holocaust. Allied troops continued to liberate more concentration camps and in May 1945 and Germany surrendered.
In memory of Holocaust victims, the United Nations General Assembly established Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. At Atlanta's Breman Museum, the history of the Holocaust is present every single day.
The day of commemoration is used to remember both Holocaust victims and survivors globally, according to Rabbi Joe Prass, the Director of Holocaust Education at The Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. A day he said everyone could learn from.
"It's critical that we remember this day. We often hear that if we don't remember history, that history will repeat itself -- and the Holocaust serves as a warning of when humanity forgets to stand up for others in our society," Prass said. "So to remember this day is to remember when people look the other way, countries and neighbors didn't stand up for their fellow human beings."
The Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta houses a permanent exhibition that presents a detailed history of the events that led up to the Holocaust and the events that took place during the era.
The exhibit titled "Absence of Humanity: The Holocaust Years" was designed by local architect and Holocaust survivor Ben Hirsch. It features historic photographs, personal memorabilia, family documents, and videotaped interviews with Atlanta-area survivors.
Historians estimate that around 1.1 million people died in Auschwitz during the less than five years of its existence, according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
"You know, today is significant, but it just shouldn't be something that falls on a calendar. It should be something that spurs people to action to learn about the Holocaust," Prass said.