Remembering Nazi victims and fragile freedoms

International Holocaust Remembrance Day gives Jehovah’s Witnesses time to reflect on victims of Nazi persecution

California resident David Cohen remembers being deeply troubled after learning about the Holocaust at school, but that horrific event in history became personal when he became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1991.

“Many people suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime, including Jehovah’s Witnesses. Learning what my spiritual brothers and sisters went through is enlightening and very personal,” said David Cohen.

January 27 — the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp — has been designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to honor the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism. This year’s theme is “Fragility of Freedom,” emphasizing how religious expression and other freedoms are vulnerable to abuse and restriction.