The Jewish Federation of San Diego marked Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — with a powerful community ceremony in La Jolla, honoring victims, survivors and those who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II.
This year’s theme, “Celebrating the Righteous Among the Nations,” highlighted individuals who defied danger to protect Jewish refugees. More than 300 people gathered at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center to reflect, remember and share stories of courage and survival.
Jason Abranches attended the event to honor his great-grandfather, a Portuguese consul who defied his government and issued life-saving visas to 30,000 refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.
“It’s really heavy. Of course. For everybody,” Abranches said.
Abranches said the emotional weight of his family’s history is difficult to put into words.
“What he, and the family, and all these refugees went through, it’s a lot of times almost as if someone stabs me in the stomach, like I can’t finish the sentence”
Holocaust survivors in San Diego took part in a candle-lighting ceremony, bearing witness alongside the community. Among the speakers was Arturo Levin, whose mother and grandmother escaped Nazi-occupied Lithuania by fleeing through Japan.
“Even coming to this talk made me somewhat nervous. They assured me there would be plenty of security, which I shouldn’t have even considered it.”
Organizers said the annual commemoration is both a time to remember the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust and to recognize the resilience of survivors.
“Yom HaShoah is an incredibly important day of commemoration of memory and also of strength and resilience. We remember the 6 million Jews that perished in the Holocaust. And we acknowledge the strength of the survivors sitting right in front of us,” said Heidi Gantwerk, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.
Gantwerk also warned about rising antisemitism and the urgency of preserving firsthand accounts as the survivor population ages.
“What we are seeing now in terms of the anti-Semitism, the violence directed against Jews, the attacks on synagogues just a few weeks ago, it’s a regular occurrence. I have not seen it in my lifetime, nor has anyone I know except for these survivors.”
“We are seeing Holocaust denialism and distortion rising. Many people, most people, majority under the age of say, 30,”
Levin said the rise in hate is deeply troubling.
“It, it, it bothers me tremendously, it hurts me, I wish we could all live in peace,”
Gantwerk emphasized the importance of continuing education and remembrance.
“And we know that in the next few years, we won’t have any more first-person accounts. Our survivors will be gone.” she continued, “We have to keep this alive, particularly today, when we are seeing anti-Semitism rising at an alarming clip. And swastikas and Nazi salutes and Heil Hitler are becoming commonplace on college and high school campuses.”
Abranches said sharing these stories is critical to preventing history from repeating itself.
“I’m really hoping we don’t have to relearn. That’s why I think these talks are so important.”
Organizers ended the ceremony with a call to action rooted in remembrance.
“That when we say never again, we mean it.”
As part of its “Legacy of Light” initiative, the Jewish Federation shared that the Goldberg Institute for Holocaust Education is developing “Spark Interactive,” a mobile classroom and museum designed to educate the public about Holocaust history.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.
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