For David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, establishing a Holocaust memorial day was a fundamental step in forming the national identity of the new Jewish state. In choosing a date for Yom Hashoah, Ben-Gurion made two important considerations.

First, the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising was chosen. The symbol of the Jewish warrior fighting to the end was a critical demonstration of the heroism needed in the fledgling Jewish state. Just as Mordecai Anielewicz and the courageous fighters in Warsaw took a stand, so would the pioneers and fighters of Israel.

Second, a Hebrew date was selected – the 27th of Nissan. Establishing Yom Hashoah on a Jewish calendar demonstrated the essential Jewish nature of the State of Israel. The 27th of Nissan, however, is not the Hebrew anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which actually took place on Passover. In order to avoid a conflict, Ben-Gurion moved the memorial day a week later – after Passover and one week before Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzamut.

The placement of Yom Hashoah between these holidays plays into the themes that Ben-Gurion envisioned. Passover, marking the journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Land of Israel, represents the Zionist pioneers’ return to Israel. Yom Hazikaron, the memorial day for Israel’s fallen soldiers, and Yom Ha’atzamut, the celebration of Israel’s independence, rest upon their prerequisite, Yom Hashoah.

Ben-Gurion’s Holocaust narrative is one of heroism, struggle and ultimately nationalism. It, however, is not the only narrative, nor the only form of commemoration.

Many in our community memorialize the Holocaust on Tisha b’Av, a day of fasting and lamentations during the summer marking the destruction of the two temples and countless other tragedies in Jewish history.

Ismar Schorsh, former chancellor of the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary, wrote that it is the “expansive and inclusive quality of Tisha b’Av,” encompassing tragedies from across history, “that makes the day for me a vehicle to mourn the six million.” Moreover, in contrast to Ben-Gurion’s vision, Schorsh continued, by arguing that Kristallnacht, Yom Hashoah and Tisha b’Av, “three distinct days of mourning on the Jewish calendar threatens to turn martyrology and victimhood into a world view.”

While Yom Hashoah may be seen as a national day of mourning, Tisha b’Av couples this with a religious framework of history and practice. To Schorsh, it is the ritual of reading Lamentations and fasting that are the markers of commemoration.

In Toronto, we hold Holocaust Education Week in November. The annual event centres around Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, on Nov. 10. Such a commemoration remembers Jewish victimhood during the Holocaust, recounting the narratives of millions who were murdered, enslaved and persecuted by the Nazis.

In recent years, the United Nations, European Union and others have recognized Jan. 27 as Holocaust Memorial Day. Jan. 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet army. The selection of such a date offers yet another narrative – the victory over evil, the pursuit of justice and the granting of freedom to those victimized. Unlike the other memorials, it shifts the significance of the Holocaust beyond the Jewish world, across cultures, religions and borders.

When teaching the Holocaust we are confronted with each of these narratives and more. Each voice harkens to our remembrance and vies for the attention of our students. Each voice holds an important place in the chorus of Holocaust narratives. Critical to Holocaust education, however, is the extrapolation of the lessons of the Shoah into a world filled with the stories of Rwanda, Darfur and a dozen other genocides. Drawing upon the distinct narrative of each Holocaust commemoration, we must teach our children lessons desperately needed in today’s world: the lessons of tolerance, justice and Never Again.