SF leaders commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring 6 million Jews killed in World War II

ByLena Howland KGO logo
Monday, January 27, 2025
SF leaders commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day
At San Francisco's Legion of Honor, a ceremony was held Monday morning to honor the more than six million Jews killed during World War II.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Monday marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day and people around the world are marking 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp.

At San Francisco's Legion of Honor, a ceremony was held Monday morning to honor the more than six million Jews killed during World War II.

It was held at the Legion of Honor's outdoor Holocaust memorial site.

The American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Family and Children's Services (JFCS) holocaust Center hosted the ceremony, joined by several city and state officials, including Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

One of the speakers at this ceremony was Jessica Graf, whose great grandmother was killed in the Holocaust.

She now serves as a Senior Rabbi at a synagogue in San Francisco.

Still to this day, she says the evidence of antisemitism around the world is enormous.

"Especially at this time when we see it, it's visible and palpable here in San Francisco and throughout California, the United States and the world," Jessica Graf, a Senior Rabbi at Congregation Sherith Israel said. "It's a very scary time and it's especially important for us to remember, never to forget the horrors of antisemitism and bigotry and hatred and what that can create."

MORE: SF center keeps survivors' stories alive on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The Jewish Family and Children's Services Holocaust Center in San Francisco has a vast archive with thousands of items related to the Holocaust and is focusing on education to make sure the stories of survivors are not forgotten.

Oliver Schramm, the Consul General of Germany in the Pacific Northwest also spoke during Monday's ceremony, acknowledging the antisemitism felt around the world.

"We need to really stay together and we need to be tolerant vis-à-vis of other cultures, that's the only way forward and that should be the message of today," Schramm said.

Schramm also talked about how this day is a reminder to be human, tolerant and to be a force for union instead of hatred or alienation.

Similar Remembrance Day events are happening across the Bay Area on Monday.

San Jose will hold their own commemoration at San Jose City Hall.

That starts at 3:30 p.m.

Now Streaming 24/7 Click Here
Copyright © 2025 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.