Lead story
Editor's note:
Holocaust survivors gathered at Auschwitz on Tuesday, commemorating 81 years since the Nazi death camp’s liberation.
Each year, however, the number of witnesses around the world grows smaller. An estimated 200,000 Holocaust survivors are alive today – most of whom were children during the war and are now in their 80s or 90s.
For years, survivors’ voices have been a pillar of Holocaust education, giving a human face to history lessons. What happens when they’re gone?
There are other ways to “bring this history home,” says Chad Gibbs, a professor at the College of Charleston – making it local and personal. In classes on the Holocaust, for example, he uses letters sent by a family of Polish Jews to relatives in South Carolina, and he trains students to conduct oral histories with survivors’ descendants.
“What’s most heartening about these methods and their successes is what they reveal about what today’s students value,” Gibbs writes. “In the age of AI, Big Tech and omnipresent social media, I believe it is still – and maybe even more than ever – the real human connection.”
Religion News
As Springfield's 15,000 Haitians brace for deportations, local churches train to resist ICE
Over a year since Donald Trump and JD Vance spread falsehoods about the city's migrants eating pets, Haitians’ temporary protected status is set to run out Feb. 3. By Kathryn Post/Religion News Service
The first female head of the Anglican Communion is sworn in, inheriting a church in turmoil
Sarah Mullally has been sworn in as the archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England. By Danica Kirka/The Associated Press
Of the 9,400 structures destroyed by the Eaton Fire, more than a dozen were houses of worship. Today, those communities gather in temporary spaces, drawing on decades of interfaith connections. By Hayden Royster/Religion News Service
Cuba's Santeros offer gifts and ask deities for peace as tensions rise with U.S.
As Cuba braces for more economic difficulties, priests and priestesses of the Afro-Cuban religion known as Santería held ceremonies offering gifts to deities and asking for peace. By Andrea Rodriguez/The Associated Press
World pauses to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Holocaust survivors, politicians and regular people gathered at somber events across Europe and beyond to reflect on Nazi Germany's killing of millions of people. By Vanessa Gera/The Associated Press
Commentary and Analysis
President Donald Trump described a Dec. 25 airstrike on suspected insurgent camps as a 'Christmas present' from the US. Many in Nigeria are not viewing it as such. By Aili Mari Tripp for The Conversation
The people of Minneapolis, too, are responding and resisting in unspeakably brave, radically loving ways that we will speak of for years to come. By Sunita Viswanath/Religion News Service
Grief can inspire concrete acts of loyalty and generosity. By Claire White for The Conversation
The Christian apocrypha, texts not included in the New Testament, include stories of Jesus’ female followers – including St. Thecla. By Christy Cobb for The Conversation
Faith leaders demonstrate against ICE tactics in the departures area of Terminal 1 of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (RNS photo/Jack Jenkins)
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