Heroism is Surviving and Rebuilding - Yom HaShoah 2026

My Remarks from our event with Vince Pankoke:

Today, we mark the beginning of the Yoms, three holidays that were created after the Holocaust - Yom Hashoah U’Gevurah, Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism Day, Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’atzmaut.

Focusing on today’s holiday, I wanted to offer a little history to the day.

The push for a dedicated Holocaust Memorial Day began almost immediately after the war. Survivors, Zionist leaders, and members of the nascent Israeli government debated both whether to mark the Shoah with a national day and when. Some preferred the 9th of Av, the traditional day of Jewish catastrophe. Others wanted a date tied to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which began on the 19th of Nisan (April 19, 1943) — but that date falls during Passover, a halachically and symbolically complicated choice.

A compromise emerged: the 27th of Nisan, close enough to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to honor armed resistance, but outside the festival period. The Knesset officially established Yom HaShoah on this date in 1951, though the formal law enshrining it as a national memorial day wasn't passed until 1959.

But they insisted on adding Gevurah, Heroism, to the day, reflecting an early Israeli cultural tension. The dominant Zionist ethos of the 1950s was uncomfortable with the image of Jews "going like sheep to the slaughter." Emphasizing gevurah (heroism, resistance) alongside destruction was a way of honoring the victims while also affirming the new Israeli identity. Over time, this framing has evolved; contemporary observance tends to honor all victims, not just those who engaged in armed resistance.

But speaking as a grandson of four Holocaust survivors, three who survived through concentration camps, and another who hid as a Christian fearing that her identity could be revealed at any moment, I think the heroism should not only be reserved for those who took up arms, but for those who fought to survive every day.

Those who were prisoners, by no fault of their own, who survived in camps, or in hiding, did so not just for themselves but for future generations. During the 60-minute piece, which tells the story of our speaker today, I learned that when Anne Frank and her family were captured, the children were in the middle of school lessons. During the over two years in hiding, the parents gave their children a rigorous education. It wasn’t just a distraction, it was hope for the future; that one day their children would become adults, and be free people.

In that spirit, I would like to introduce our speaker, who devoted years of his life to the Anne Frank family and the Jewish people.

Vincent P. Pankoke is a 35-year law enforcement professional, beginning his career as a municipal police officer with the Richland Township Police Department in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. There, he worked his way from patrolman to Crime Prevention officer, doing fraud investigations and instructing at the police academy. In 1987, he was recruited to join the FBI and served as a Special Agent until his retirement in 2014. His first four years were in the Milwaukee Division, and the remaining 23 years were in the Miami Division. While in Miami, Vince was assigned to one of the Bureau’s premier Colombian drug squads, which specialized in wiretaps and undercover operations. During his time on the drug squad, he received multiple U.S. Attorney’s Office Awards, the 2002 Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force 20th Anniversary National Award, the 2000 Colombian DAS Director’s Award, and was a 1996 F.B.I. Award recipient. Director’s Award Finalist.

After his retirement, Vince was recruited by Dutch National Police colleagues to become the Director of Investigation for the Anne Frank Cold Case Investigation, which was featured this past January on the CBS news program, 60 Minutes. His role included coordinating the investigative effort into solving the mystery surrounding the circumstances of the raid in which Anne Frank, her family and friends were captured on August 4, 1944. Pankoke developed a cold case team protocol, including recruiting subject matter experts, selecting team members, identifying investigative initiatives, directing archival research, and applying modern investigative techniques, including profiling, testimonial reconstruction, and, most importantly for this presentation, artificial intelligence.