Holocaust Victims Honored in Annual 25-Hour Vigil at Pasadena City Hall

The Seventh Annual 25-hour “Every Person Has a Name” vigil continues at Pasadena City Hall on Sunday morning, organized by the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys in collaboration with the City of Pasadena. 

The event began Saturday night and features the reading of 8,000 names of Holocaust victims to mark United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945.

The first hour featured a ceremony with local elected officials and other dignitaries in the City Hall Rotunda. At 8 p.m., volunteers began the 24-hour vigil, reading the names of some of those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. The readers represent various walks of life, faiths, and cultures.

The event was scheduled to conclude at 8 p.m. on Jan. 28. 

Jason Moss, the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation, emphasized the importance of remembering each victim of the Holocaust as a unique individual who was killed without mercy. 

“Over the next 24 hours, we will remind the world that each was a living, breathing person whose life was brutally cut short for a straightforward reason, for being  Jews. We restore the dignity and humanity the Nazis took from each of them by remembering them during the next 24 hours by reading their names out loud.”  

Moss added, “During an interview several years ago, a then 97-year-old survivor of Auschwitz explained that ‘In Auschwitz, nobody knew names. The German SS officers, when they were talking to you, they were talking to a number, not a person.’” 

Moss also highlighted the recent rise in incidents of antisemitic and hate rhetoric, and attacks at levels not seen since the Holocaust.

“For the last seven years or so,” he said, “we have witnessed and experienced a year-after-year increase in incidents of antisemitic and hate rhetoric, and attacks at levels not seen since the Holocaust.”

“This was even before the horrific event that transpired in Israel on October 7th,” he said, in a reference to the Hamas attack on Israel late last year that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

Moss reported that 29 cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, including Pasadena, have passed resolutions denouncing antisemitism in all its forms. 

This effort was initiated by the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, which sent letters to the mayors, city council members, and city managers of the 48 cities it covers, urging them to stand against hate.

“We are hopeful more will support this effort soon,” he added. 

The event also features an exhibition titled “The Righteous Among the Nations” from Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Holocaust Museum. The exhibition showcased the stories of over 30 individuals who bravely sacrificed their freedom.

Following a performance of “Eili, Eili,” by the Jewish Youth Orchestra, Pasadena Vice Mayor  Steve Madison remarked that although the Holocaust was 78 years ago, “That is only one lifetime, and painfully, recent events have demonstrated that this is a fear and a risk that we need to be very vigilant about.”

Other speakers at the event included State Senator Anthony Portantino, U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu, State Senator Susan Rubio, and the Reverend Mike Kinman of All Saints Presbyterian Church.  

Rabbi Alex Weisz, of Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock, led the audience in a reading of the Mourner’s Kaddish.

Representatives from the American Red Cross were also on hand with their Family Links Team, which works with national and international partners to reconnect families who were separated during the Holocaust and the Second World War. The organization assists family member searches, and obtains documentation of wartime and post-wartime experiences of those affected by the Holocaust, as well as other world conflicts.

 In 2023, the American Red Cross assisted 23,177 people, opened 10,467 new cases, reconnected 9,914 families, and worked with Red Cross and Red Crescent partners in 102 countries around the world.

The event is open to the public, with opportunities for individuals to participate in name reading, either in person or virtually.