Commemoration and Remembrances: Yom HaShoah and Anzac Day

Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins at sundown on begins at sunset on Monday 13 April 2006, and continues to the evening of Tuesday 14 April 2026.

This the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, and is the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Note: International Holocaust Memorial Day is 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Every year, Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and Tonga commemorate Anzac Day on 25 April.

Anzac Day commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.’ It is the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for the Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) forces during the First World War.

On the face of it, these commemorative days have little in common.

As someone from Aotearoa New Zealand, I could see the resonances between the two.

Both are seminal events for a group of people – for survivors and relatives. For the world, with impacts throughout the generations since.

Both are horrific and incredibly sad events.

Which raises the question: how do we talk about these events with children? The authors of the following books take on this task with clarity and sensitivity.

Please note: because of the subject matter, many of these books are not appropriate for a public library storytime setting. But they are useful for readers’ advisory, especially for when teachers and caregivers come seeking help to explain geopolitical tragedies to our kids.

Also check out our blog post: Everybody Hurts: dealing with tragedy.