Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust • the Open Siddur Project ✍ פְּרוֺיֶּקט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ

This is an archive of prayers composed for, or relevant to, the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust in the United States.
The Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust (DRVH) is an annual 8-day period designated by the United States Congress for civic commemorations and special educational programs that help citizens remember and draw lessons from the Holocaust. The annual DRVH period normally begins on the Sunday before Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day in the State of Israel on the 27th of Nisan, and continues through the following Sunday, usually in April or May. A National Civic Commemoration is held in Washington, D.C., with state, city, and local ceremonies and programs held in most of the fifty states, and on U.S. military ships and stations around the world. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum designates a theme for each year’s programs, and provides materials to help support remembrance efforts.
A House Joint resolution 1014 designated April 28 and 29 of 1979 as “Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust.” Senator John Danforth of Missouri, who originated the resolution, chose April 28 and 29 because it was on these dates, in 1945, that American troops—including at least one ethnically segregated artillery battalion of the U.S. Army, many of whose own relatives were themselves interned during the war on American soil—liberated the Dachau concentration camp and a number of its satellite camps, as well as rescuing hundreds of Jewish-ethnicity camp inmates driven southwards from Dachau by the Nazis on a death march only days later.
If you have composed a prayer or prayer-poem for the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, please share it here.
Looking for something else?
For prayers composed for Kristallnacht (16 Marḥeshvan), please visit here.
For prayers composed for Yom haShoah in the State of Israel (27 Nisan), please visit here.
For prayers composed for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, please visit here.
For public readings selected for Holocaust & Genocide Memorial Days, go here.

אֶפְתַּח פִּי לְךָ אָדוֹן | Eftaḥ Pi L’kha Adōn, a seliḥah for Kristallnacht by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

השואה the Shoah, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Alphabetic Acrostic, Third Reich, פיוטים piyyutim, acronym, קינות Ḳinnot

There’s a lot of controversy over Yom haShoah as a date. One of the key issues is this: traditionally, the ways Jews mourn communal tragedies is through establishing a fast day. It’s forbidden to fast during the month of Nisan. It’s hard to pick any specific date to commemorate a tragedy as enormous as the Shoah, but one which seems appropriate to me would be 16 Marḥeshvan, the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the November Pogrom. This piyyut is a seliḥah for Kristallnacht, to be recited on 16 Marḥeshvan (or 15 Marḥeshvan on years like 5782 where the sixteenth falls on a Thursday). . . .

‏אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים תְפִילָה לַנִּסְפִּים בַּשּׁוֹאָה | El Malé Raḥamim Prayer for the Victims of the Shoah, by Rabbi Yehoyada Amir

Contributor(s):

Mona Lantz Levi (translation), Lada Moskalets (translation), Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Yehoyada Amir

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

Ukrainian translation, mourning, השואה the Shoah, אל מלא רחמים El Malé Raḥamim, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., the Holocaust, Romanian translation

A prayer for the victims of the Holocaust in Hebrew with English, Romanian, and Ukrainian translations. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Manny Behar on 30 April 2003

Contributor(s):

United States Congressional Record and Manny Behar

Categories:

Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 108th Congress, תחינות teḥinot, 21st century C.E.

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 30 April 2003. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff on 29 April 2003

Contributor(s):

United States Congressional Record and Arnold E. Resnicoff

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

תחינות teḥinot, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. Senate, 108th Congress

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 29 April 2003. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Barry Tabachnikoff on 24 April 1990

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), United States Congressional Record and Barry Tabachnikoff

Categories:

Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 101st Congress, 20th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 24 April 1990. . . .

Prayer at the National Civic Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 28 April 1987

Contributor(s):

Arnold E. Resnicoff

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

20th century C.E., השואה the Shoah, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, the Holocaust, American Jewry of the United States, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust (DRVH)

This prayer was delivered by the U.S. Navy Chaplain, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, at the 1987 National Civic Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance, in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. It was first published in Days of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust: a Department of Defense guide for commemorative observance (Office of the Secretary of Defence, 1988). . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Isaac Neuman on 11 April 1983

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Isaac Neuman and United States Congressional Record

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 20th century C.E., 98th Congress, תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, the Holocaust

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 11 April 1983. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Seymour L. Essrog on 20 April 1982

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Seymour L. Essrog and United States Congressional Record

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, prayers of military chaplains, 20th century C.E., 97th Congress, תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 20 April 1982. . . .

קִינָה עַל חֻרְבָּן הָאַחֲרוֹן | Lamentation on the Holocaust, by Shimon Zuker (1980)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Len Fellman (translation), Gertrude Hirschler (translation) and Simon Zuker

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

20th century C.E., קינות Ḳinnot, 58th century A.M., the Holocaust, Cantillated readings in English

A ḳinnah composed by a concentration camp survivor. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Morris M. Shapiro on 8 April 1975

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Morris M. Shapiro and United States Congressional Record

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 20th century C.E., 94th Congress, תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, the Holocaust

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 8 April 1975. . . .

שְׁפוֹךְ אֲהָבָתֵךְ | Shfokh Ahavatekh (Pour Out Your Love), by Rabbi Ḥayyim Bloch (1948)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Mosheh Ḥayyim ben Avraham Abba Bloch

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Barekh, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

post-Holocaust liturgical adaptations, שפוך חמתך shfokh ḥamatekha, 20th century C.E., paraliturgical shfokh hamatekha, 58th century A.M., righteous gentiles, World War Ⅱ, the Holocaust

A paraliturgical adaptation of the prayer/curse, “Shfokh Ḥamatekha,” this prayer, likely written during, or just after the Holocaust, recognizes those nations and righteous gentiles who fought and risked their lives to aid and rescue European Jewry. . . .

אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים | El Malé Raḥamim for Victims of the Shoah (the Netherlands, ca. late 1940s)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (translation), Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown Translator(s) and Unknown Author(s)

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

השואה the Shoah, אל מלא רחמים El Malé Raḥamim, 58th century A.M., Netherlandish Jewry, the Holocaust, נעילה‎ neilah, 20th century C.E., Dutch Jewry

This is an undated El Malé Raḥamim prayer for the victims of the Shoah translated into Dutch for a Yom Kippur ne’ilah service, likely sometime soon after the Holocaust had ended. To this I have added an English translation for those not fluent in Dutch or Hebrew. We are grateful to Shufra Judaica (Ellie Fisher and David Selis) for sharing a digital copy of this prayer. . . .

זאָג ניט קײן מאָל | Partisaner Lid (the Partisan Song), by Hirsh Glik (Vilna Ghetto, 1943)

Contributor(s):

comYakowenko (translation), Noam Lerman (translation), Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Hirsh Glik

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Ḥanukkah, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

Yiddishland, Guerrilla warfare, 20th century C.E., partisan resistance, anti-fascist action, resistance, anti-Nazi, 58th century A.M., Yiddish songs, anti-fascist, Vilna, Yiddish vernacular prayer, World War Ⅱ, Ukrainian translation, the Holocaust, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Yiddish resistance song, “Partisaner Lid” (The Partisan Song) was composed by Hirsh Glick in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Israel Goldstein on 21 April 1942

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Israel Goldstein and United States Congressional Record

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States of America

Tags:

English vernacular prayer, World War Ⅱ, U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 20th century C.E., 77th Congress, תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M.

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 21 April 1942. . . .

שִׁיר הַגְאוּלָה (החיינו אל) | Shir ha-Ge’ulah (Song of Redemption), by an anonymous author (1940)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Unknown Author(s)

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, Se'udah haShlishit

Tags:

the Holocaust, חבּ״ד ḤaBaD Lubavitch, 20th century C.E., משיח Moshiaḥ, זמירות zemirot, acrostic, 58th century A.M., World War Ⅱ

This is a vocalized transcription and translation of the World War Ⅱ era song, “Shir haGe’ulah (Song of Redemption)” from the source images shared in A Tribute to Rabbi Mordechai Meir Hakohen Bryski v”g Bryski (Rabbi Mordechai A. Katz, 2017), pp. 19-20. The song is also known by its incipit, “Heḥayyeinu El.” . . .

Prayer for a Service of Intercession [for European Jewry during the Holocaust], by Lilian Helen Montagu (ca. 1940)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Lilian Helen Montagu

Categories:

Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

World War Ⅱ, the Holocaust, 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., British Jewry, English vernacular prayer

This undated “Special prayer for Service of Intercession” by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) from the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), pp. 356-357. From the contents, it reads as if it was composed in response to the terrifying news of the tortuous treatment of European Jews during the Holocaust. In 1940, other “intercession” services were offered with comparative prayers; for example, this one by the chief rabbi J.H. Hertz included in the Prayer Book for H.M. Forces. . . .

Prayer of Intercession [for Britain in the War against Nazi Germany], by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Joseph Herman Hertz and Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

Categories:

International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, Armistice Day (November 11th), War, United Kingdom

Tags:

anti-Nazi, anti-fascist, 20th century C.E., Third Reich, military, 58th century A.M., British Jewry, World War Ⅱ

“Prayer for Intercession,” almost certainly written by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz, was published in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), pp. 18-19. . . .

Prayer on the Declaration of War [against Nazi Germany], by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Joseph Herman Hertz and Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

Categories:

International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, Armistice Day (November 11th), War, United Kingdom

Tags:

20th century C.E., Third Reich, military, 58th century A.M., British Jewry, World War Ⅱ, anti-Nazi, anti-fascist

This prayer for victory and deliverance in the war against Nazi Germany, simply titled “War Prayer,” appears in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), pp. 16-17. Sections of the prayer were adapted from the prayer on the declaration of war by Rabbi Hertz in 1914 at the outset of World War I. In the preface to the payer book, Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz specifically mentions this prayer, among others, as having been newly revised for this publication. The initial version of the prayer, likely to have been written by Rabbi Hertz, was published by the Office of the Chief Rabbi for a 17 Tammuz service in July 1938. A revision was disseminated after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938). This is the third version of the prayer. . . .

תפילה לעזרת היהודים תושבי גרמניה | Prayer for German Jewry under Nazi oppression before and after Kristallnacht (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1938)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Joseph Herman Hertz and Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Shiv'ah Asar b'Tamuz, International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust

Tags:

57th century A.M., Third Reich, British Empire, German Jewry, World War Ⅱ, the Holocaust, anti-fascist, 20th century C.E., Jews of India

An untitled prayer on behalf of German Jewry under Nazi oppression disseminated in Bombay, likely after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938). . . .

[Prayer on] the German Crisis, by Rabbi Norman M. Goldburg (3 April 1933)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Norman Michael Goldburg

Categories:

Kristallnacht, Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, International Day of Democracy (September 15th)

Tags:

20th century C.E., California State Legislature, United States, 1933 in Germany, 57th century A.M., Reichstag Fire Decree, English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains

“The German Crisis” by Rabbi Norman Michael Goldburg, was offered before the California state legislature on 3 April 1933, and published in California Legislature 50th Session 1933: Prayers Offered at the Daily Sessions of the Assembly, pp. 59-60. . . .