HUM in English

HUM is an abbreviation of the Finnish name of the Finnish Holocaust Remembrance Association, Holokaustin uhrien muisto ry. The association was founded in 1993 as Yad Vashem Finnish Branch, but the name was changed in 2012 to describe better the mission of honoring the victims of the Holocaust, both Jewish and Roma.

We still work together with Yad Vashem and under our wings there is ”Yad Vashem Alumni” for teachers, religious and community leaders and civil servants who have participated in Yad Vashem courses in Jerusalem.

The main event of HUM is the annual National Holocaust Remembrance Day event on/around January 27 in cooperation with the government of Finland, with a minister as our keynote speaker.

On November 6th we organize an event commemorating the eight Jewish refugees who were deported to the hands of Nazis on Nov. 6, 1942.

We also commemorate the Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day on August 2.

HUM is funded by its members, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The board of directors 2025-2026:

Chairman: Rev. Teemu Laajasalo, Lutheran Bishop of Helsinki, since 2025.

Vice-chair: Mr. Risto Huvila, Chairman of the Federation of Finland-Israel Associations and Advisor of the Working Group Against Antisemitism in the Parliament of Finland, since 2018.

Treasurer: Ms. Chana Swanström, A World Jewish Congress Lauder Fellow.

Secretary: Mr. Ilkka Virtanen, journalist.

Other members: Mr. Markku Haranne, Mr. Dimitri Lindgren, Dr. Jussi Nuorteva, Ms. Kristina Paavela, Mr. Harry Serlo, Ms. Miranda Vuolasranta, and Ms. Niina Väntänen.

Please contact: info@hum.fi