LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) – Around the world Tuesday, people observed Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day to honor the six million Jewish victims of World War Two’s Nazi genocide.

Here in Western Massachusetts, the Jewish Community Center’s Holocaust Remembrance Day Community Program was held at the Congregation B’Nai Torah in Longmeadow. Survivors and their families were joined by community members to reflect on this dark chapter in history.

Holocaust survivor, Esia Friedman tells 22News, the world needs to remember the Holocaust, learn from it, and understand the consequences of hate. “We were in the Vilna Ghetto, and then I was in hiding as a child. I have been speaking since 1983 for our tragedy, because our story has to be told, because its unbelievable that humanity could do that to other people,” says Friedman.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has resources on their website for people to get a better understanding of this history, and how anti-Semitism still exists today.