Marking the New Year - From Our Archive

"We stand before our God: Our strength is in Him. In Him is the truth and the dignity of our history. In Him is the source of our survival through every change, our firm stand in all our trials. Our history is the history of spiritual greatness, spiritual dignity. We turn to it when attack and insult are directed against us, when need and suffering press in upon us. The Lord led our fathers from generation to generation. He will continue to lead us and our children through our days."

Excerpt from prayer composed by Rabbi Leo Baeck for all Jewish communities in Germany for the Eve of the Day of Atonement, October 10, 1935

Here are a few items from Yad Vashem's vast archive collection that bear poignant witness to the determination of the Jews, regardless of circumstance and surroundings, to mark the High Holy Days through prayer.

Synagogue Schedule and Policies for the High Holiday Services in Brno, Czechoslovakia, 1941

High Holy Day Prayers from Bergen-Belsen, 1944

Jewish Calendar from Bergen-Belsen, 1944