Frequently Asked Questions

Why do the names change order?

Why is it so important to remember these people?

I am not Jewish. Can I still help to remember? How should I go about doing this?

You will never reach six million names! Is this really worth the effort?

Can I add a survivor's name to your database?

Do you accept donations?

I have received a confirmation email, but when I clicked on the link, it didn't work. What should I do?

I do not know of anyone who died in the Holocaust, but I would still like to research names to add to the database. How should I go about doing this?

I made a mistake while entering a victim's name or have come across new information that I would like to add. How can I change their information?

Is there a way for me to get notified about a specific person's yahrzeit?

Why do the names change order?

Each time a page is refreshed, the order of the daily list of yahrzeits changes. This is because some people only pick the top two or three people on the list when they are mourning. By arranging the names in a random order, each person has a chance to be at the top to help insure that they are mourned.
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Why is it so important to remember these people?

In Judaism, there is not as much importance placed on the afterlife as in other religions. Rather, you are supposed to be a good person in life and make an impact on people. By saying kaddish for these individuals who perished, we preserve their memory forever.
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I am not Jewish. Can I still help to remember? How should I go about doing this?

For non-Jews (or even for Jews) there really aren't any specific requirements. If your faith has a traditional way of remembering people that would be perfectly acceptable. Otherwise, there are a few simple things anyone, of any faith can do;

1. Just think about the person. Read their name (and other information if available) to yourself. Take a few minutes to think about what their life might have been like. Imagine what kind of person they might have been or what kind of person they might have become. You don't have to be "right" about what you imagine. Rather, just remembering the person is enough.
2. Say a prayer. If you are comfortable you can say any prayer that you know or even make one up. A simple prayer might just ask G-d to help carry forward the memory of the person for whom you are praying.
3. Observe a moment of silence. If you aren't comfortable imagining the person or saying a prayer, you can simply set aside a few moments to pause from your daily routine. That gesture alone helps preserve the person's memory.

You will never reach six million names! Is this really worth the effort?

The answer to that question can be found in a story called "The Star Thrower" by Joel Barker.

Once, there was a man walking along the beach. As he was walking, he saw a figure dancing in the distance. He smiled to himself at the idea of someone dancing to the day and quickened his pace.

As he got closer, the man noticed the figure was that of a boy and he was not dancing, but picking up small objects off of the beach and throwing them into the ocean.

He asked the boy, "Excuse me young man. What are you doing?"

The boy replied, "I am throwing starfish into the ocean."

The man asked, "Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

The boy replied, "The sun is up and the tide is out. If the starfish are not returned to the water, they will dry out and die."

The man said, "That is very kind of you, but there are miles and miles of beach. Do you really think that you can make a difference?"

The boy simply bent down, picked up another starfish, tossed it into the ocean, and said "It made a difference to that one".

Rather than counting the number of remaining names left to add, we prefer to count the number of names of people whose memory will be remembered forever.
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Can I add a survivor's name to your database?

As of now, Each of Us Has a Name focuses on the Jewish victims who did not survive the Holocaust. However, there are many projects and survivor organizations that help to remember the survivors. One such project is My Jewish Legacy.
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Do you accept donations?

At this point, there aren't very many costs with keeping the site running. Therefore, we're not looking for donations right now.
However, there are three things you can do if you wish to help what we do:

1. Consider saying Kaddish for people in the database on a regular basis
2. If you have time, researching and adding any names would be helpful
3. If you are looking to make a donation, consider one of the major Holocaust institutions such as Yad Vashem or the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

I have received a confirmation email, but when I clicked on the link, it didn't work. What should I do?

Contact us via the contact page. Please be sure to include your username in your message.
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I do not know of anyone who died in the Holocaust, but I would still like to research names to add to the database. How should I go about doing this?

Each of Us Has a Name has many opportunities to get involved, including researching names to add to our database. To find out about researching names and other volunteer opportunities, go to the Get Involved page.
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I made a mistake while entering a victim's name or have come across new information that I would like to add. How can I change their information?

Log in to the account that you originally submitted the name with and go to the person whose information you would like to change's page. You will see a link at the top that says "edit". Click on this link and you will see a page that looks exactly like the submit page except it has all of their information already filled in. Change any information you would like to and hit "submit" at the bottom of the page.

Please note: When you update a person's information, they will not be visible on the site until they are reviewed again to prevent fraud edits.
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Is there a way for me to get notified about a specific person's yahrzeit?

Yes, there is. First, you must create a free account or sign in to your existing one. Once you are signed in, navigate to the person who you wish to "adopt"'s page. You will see a link at the top of the page that says "Adopt (name)". If you click on the link, you will be signed up to receive yearly emails approximately one week before that person's yahrzeit. If you ever wish for this service to stop, simply navigate back to the person's page and there will be a red X where the "adopt" link was. Click on the X to stop receiving emails about their yahrzeit. You can always re-adopt them if you wish.
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