Notes from the Levy Library

The Role of Remembrance

– column updated 1/22/26

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

In 2005 the United Nations designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD). This day commemorates the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, honors the victims of Nazism, and promotes Holocaust education to remember the Holocaust and prevent further genocide. The theme for 2026 highlights the role of remembrance in defending human rights and dignity.

The following portrait exemplifies this theme:

“A portrait of Emanuel Rosenthal, age two, and his brother, Avram, age five in the Kovno ghetto, Lithuania, February 1944. They wear distinctive badges imposed by the Nazis as a way to identify and isolate Jews. The little boys’ uncle, Shraga Wainer, had asked fellow ghetto prisoner, George Kadish to photograph the boys. Weeks later, both children were murdered in the ‘Children’s Action’ of 27-28 March. Wainer and Kadish survived the Holocaust. After the war, Kadish gave a copy of the photograph to Wainer in the Landsberg displaced persons camp. The photograph endures, reflecting an uncle’s love and an insistence on preserving humanity against the antisemitic efforts to erase it.” Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Shraga Wainer. Source: https://www.un.org/en/outreach-programme-holocaust/page/2026

Let’s take a moment to remember individuals like the little boys in this haunting photograph. The library houses many books that document such lives and share their stories. We have children’s books for about 4^th grade and up: ask me for age-appropriate reading recommendations. We also have Holocaust books aimed at teens, and a large section for adults. Many of the books are award winners. All are important. Here is a small sample of some more recent acquisitions – reading any of them would be a fitting way to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Latest Recommendations from the Second Sunday Book Club

We met on January 11 and had a wide-ranging discussion of the books we shared. Here are a few of our selections. We learned of two real-life Holocaust rescuers: Frank Meier in the French novel, The Barman of the Ritz, and Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes in the children’s book, The World Entire.

Feeling like an outsider figured in Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s memoir, Heart of a Stranger, as well as a children’s novel, The Outsmarters. Intrigued? If you ask to be on the book club email distribution list you will get a reminder a few days before we meet and a booklist afterwards. Even if you can’t make the monthly Zoom meetings (generally the second Sunday) you might enjoy getting the booklist.

Our next meeting is Sunday, February 8, at 1:00 pm. Email me for the Zoom link if you’d like to join us to talk about your reading.

Shabbat Shalom, and happy reading and viewing!

Your Librarian, Annette

Do visit our online catalog https://stti-hl.mimas.opalsinfo.net/bin/home#0. You can also get there via the Temple web site https://sephardictemple.org/ — click on the “Learning” tab and choose “Temple Library.” Get to know your Levy Library – there’s lots to discover!

Librarian: Annette Goldsmith. Email: library@sephardictemple.org