Each year on Jan. 27, the world commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day on the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet soldiers. This year, the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum is planning a weekend-long commemoration beginning on Friday, Jan. 26, and ending on Sunday, Jan. 28.

All weekend, museum admission will be “pay as you wish” (at least $0.01), meaning visitors will be able to purchase admission to the permanent Holocaust exhibition for any amount they deem appropriate. All pay-as-you-wish tickets must be purchased at the museum welcome desk during its open hours on that weekend.

On Jan. 28, the museum will mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a 5-hour memorial name reading. During the reading (10 a.m. – 3 p.m.), museum staff, board members, supporters and civic leaders will read the names of hundreds of Holocaust victims. The reading will be live-streamed on the museum’s YouTube page. Visitors are welcome to witness the name-reading in person by registering here.

Also on Jan. 28, the museum will welcome Michael Berenbaum for the annual Rachel Miller Lecture entitled “The World Must Know: Antisemitism in the Wake of October 7.”  Berenbaum, renowned Holocaust scholar and former project director for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will speak about the rise in contemporary antisemitism. The Annual Rachel Miller Lecture, named in honor of Holocaust survivor Rachel Miller, is made possible with the generous support of Carole and Kenneth Adashek. Museum members receive discounted tickets to the program. Those interested in attending can register by visiting the Museum’s website.

“This International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we ask the community to join us in bearing witness to this history of the Holocaust, while honoring the memory of those who experienced it. Amid rising global antisemitism, this commitment is more important than ever. We look forward to hearing from Dr. Michael Berenbaum on this crucial subject and welcoming every person who joins us during this weekend of remembrance,” said Myron Freedman, the museum’s executive director.

Additional information on these programs may be found on the Museum’s website at stlholocaustmuseum.org. The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.