On the evening of Jan. 27, New York Medical College (NYMC) in Valhalla illuminated its campus and buildings at the adjacent Westchester Medical Center in yellow to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Numerous facilities throughout New York state were illuminated in yellow as part of the New York State Yellow Lights initiative.
An event at NYMC’s campus titled “The Reluctant Accomplice: An International Holocaust Remembrance Day Event” examined how ordinary individuals become complicit in mass violence and the urgent relevance of those lessons today. About 275 people attended the event in person and virtually in remembrance of six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.
One of those attending was historian Konrad H. Jarausch, editor of Reluctant Accomplice, a collection of his father’s wartime letters from the Eastern Front during World War II. Along with NYMC’s Chancellor and CEO Edward C. Halperin, M.D., Jarausch explored how historical experiences illuminate the psychological and social dynamics that can lead otherwise law-abiding citizens to become complicit in acts of mass violence. Psychiatrist Stephen J. Ferrando, chair of NYMC’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences provided a medical and psychological perspective, examining how social pressure, moral erosion, and dehumanization can transform ordinary people into what he describes as “reluctant accomplices.”
“Holocaust remembrance is not only a historical obligation – it is a moral and professional responsibility,” said Halperin. “For institutions dedicated to medicine, science, and education, understanding the consequences of silence and dehumanization is essential to ethical leadership and patient care.”
Alan Kadish, M.D., president of NYMC and Touro University said, “As the largest university under Jewish auspices in the country, Touro University has a role to play in educating the next generation of leaders about how to root out antisemitism in their communities. The simple act of illuminating our campuses and raising awareness of the day is part of a larger effort to help educate the communities we’re in about the importance of standing up for what’s right.”
Since the yellow lights initiative launched in 2022, major New York landmarks, including the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, Niagara Falls, Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, airport terminals, and key bridges have been illuminated using yellow lights.
NYMC said that as antisemitism and hate crimes continue to rise globally, its International Holocaust Remembrance Day event seeks to educate students and the community about the perils of silence and the role higher education and society have to play in ensuring that what happened as a result of Nazi tyranny never happens again.
