The Standard February 7, 2026
Each year we solemnly recognize Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by Soviet troops. This was the largest Nazi death camp, where approximately 1.1 million people were exterminated, most of them Jewish. An estimated 6 million Jewish people lost their lives in the world’s most horrifying, systematic genocide in history. Approximately 3 million Soviet prisoners of war, between 2 and 3 million non-Jewish Polish civilians, and over 500,000 people with disabilities or of different races and religions died under the Nazi regime, either by outright murder or from starvation and neglect. Roughly 196,000 Holocaust survivors are alive today. Their stories continue to be documented with urgency.
In the United States we have seen a historic rise in antisemitism since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Violence, harassment, vandalism, and negative false stereotypes have no place against any group of people. Comparing current figures or situations to Hitler, the Nazis, the Gestapo, or the Holocaust demonstrates ignorance about world history and trivializes the horror of what actually happened to millions of innocent victims. As Christians, we must avoid speaking in such offensive, careless ways. Not only is it lazy and dialogue-ending, but it also is damaging. Our word choice matters.
Matthew records a sober warning that Jesus gives: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Matthew 12:36 Elsewhere in Scripture we are told about the power of what we say, and our need for discernment and restraint. Indeed, it is difficult to harness the tongue, but it is a necessary discipline for us all.
“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” Psalm 34:13 “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18 “The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.” Proverbs 17:27 “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.” Proverbs 21:23 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6
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