Jerusalem - Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum has kicked off its annual remembrance ceremonies with a special screening of the Oscar-winning film “Son of Saul,” acknowledging the unique role movies play in maintaining the memory of the Holocaust.

The Hungarian film, which tells the story of a Jewish Nazi death camp inmate who obsessively seeks a proper burial for a boy he believes to be his son, also mirrors Yad Vashem’s central theme this year — the struggle to maintain the human spirit amid inhumanity.

Israel will come to a standstill on Thursday as sirens wail for two minutes. In the annual ritual, pedestrians typically stop in their tracks, while cars and busses pull over and people step out to stand and bow their heads. Solemn events are held, melancholic music and interviews with survivors fill the airwaves, and TV stations show documentaries about the genocide.

Yad Vashem is the focal point of the annual memorial day, as the nation’s leaders gather there for the central ceremony. The public is encouraged to fill out pages of testimonies about the victims, contribute to the campaign to collect Holocaust-era items and visit the vast complex.... Read More: VIN