Portrait of a Jewish bride and groom in Telsiai, Lithuania

(The couple perished during WWII)

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What is the Holocaust?

The term "genocide" did not exist before 1944.  It is a very specific term, referring to acts committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group. The Holocaust was a specific instance of genocide—the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews. Jews were the primary victims. Gypsies, the handicapped and Poles were also targeted. Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents also suffered grievous oppression and death by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. “Holocaust” is a word of Greek origin meaning “sacrifice by fire”.  The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jews and the other targeted groups, deemed “inferior”, were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community. (Information courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/)

"Never Again. What You Do Matters." (USHMM)

Fostering Understanding Through Education


The Alabama Holocaust Commission is recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.

Establishment of the Alabama Holocaust Commisison

The Alabama Holocaust Commission was established in 1999 by
Alabama Legislative Act HB 140 in order to foster understanding of one of the darkest periods in history through the promotion of education about the Holocaust and genocide.