Local Rabbis, faculty and Hillel members gathered Wednesday night for Binghamton University’s second annual ceremony in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah.

Over 150 people filled the Mandela Room in the Old University Union to hear BU’s Jewish a cappella group, Kaskeset, begin the night by singing the Israeli national anthem, followed by a lecture on Sephardic Judaism from Dina Danon, a BU Judaic studies professor. The event was organized by Binghamton Third-Generation Holocaust Survivors (3G), a subgroup of Hillel.

Danon provided information about Sephardic Jews, who are descendants of Jews from Spain, Portugal, North Africa and the Middle East. She also discussed how Salonica, known as the “Jerusalem of the Balkans,” was once rich with Spanish culture but was decimated under the Nazi regime.

During the war, the Judeo-Spanish heartland lost over 90 percent of its Jewish population. Germans attacked Salonica on April 9, 1941 and two years later, 2,800 people were transported to Auschwitz and killed immediately. There were 19 more transports, each carrying 2,000 people, of whom 37,000 were killed upon arrival.

Ladinos, a group of Sephardic Jews of Spanish origin who spoke Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, a language based on Old Spanish and written in Hebrew script, were mocked and forced to sing for German entertainment.

“While Sephardic Jews were murdered in foreign lands during the Holocaust, at the very least, their story is growing less foreign to us every day,” Danon said.

Kahlil Stultz, a senior majoring in history, said that his grandfather helped liberate parts of Europe in World War II, so he feels it is important to honor those who died.

“It’s only in remembering the past that we’re able to actually strive for a better future,” Stultz said. “I would like to see the descendants of the people who escaped these camps and persecutions try to celebrate the lives and remember the sacrifices of their parents, grandparents and great grandparents.”

A testimonial from Holocaust survivor Robert Atlas followed Danon’s talk. He was introduced by his granddaughter Elana, a freshman majoring in human development.

“Doing things like this proves that we’re still here and we’ve won and we’re going to continue on for generations and generations and keep the memories alive, so it’s really important,” Elana Atlas said.

Robert Atlas is a survivor from Poland who, as a child, was forced to hide his Jewish identity. He said he was lucky because he had blonde hair and hazel eyes, and his parents spoke Polish. A family friend kept him hidden for over two years before he came to the United States in 1952 with his father and changed his name, studied electrical engineering, got married and had two children.

The ceremony concluded as BU President Harvey Stenger, student groups, survivors, Jewish leadership in the greater Binghamton area, the Judaic studies department and descendants of survivors lit six candles to honor the six million Jews killed.

From 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday until 8:30 p.m. on Thursday outside of the New University Union, there was a 25-hour ritual in which students read the names of those who died during the Holocaust.

Karly Weinreb, president of Binghamton 3G and a senior double-majoring in Judaic studies and psychology, said that it is up to the descendants of survivors to pass on their stories to future generations.

“The Holocaust was about 70 years ago now and unfortunately that means that we’re losing survivors,” Weinreb said. “It’s becoming more important for their descendants, like us, to continue their legacy and carry on their stories.”