There are countless ways to reflect and learn from the traditions and central themes present in Purim that can deepen our insight into the Holocaust era. We learn from the differences, from the obvious--in the Purim story the genocide was successfully prevented--and from the less obvious but no less meaningful--that the Jews were given permission and support to fight their enemies in a country not their own. But it is the similarities that are most compelling.

Jewish children's most profound memory of the Megillah reading is the 'wiping out' of the name of Haman, the descendent of Amalek, by creating loud noise with their graggers. In this way, children are taught to recognize evil but not to fear it. In a loud and rowdy attempt to blot out Haman's name, children understand the powerful message that the Jewish people survive. From countless testimonies recorded from the ghettos and camps, we learn that at the time of Purim, Hitler's name was often substituted for Haman's name. Both in jest and with intense seriousness, privately or even openly in front of guards and officials, the names of Haman and the Amalekites were invoked by Jews of all backgrounds when referring to Hitler and his henchmen: Himmler, Heydrich, Hess, Eichman, Goebbels, Goering and others.

Today, it is often an unquestioned practice in Holocaust education and museums to give prominence to Nazi personalities and their actions. Jewish sites and curricula could learn from the Purim story to de-emphasize the Nazi leaders, their political dogma and paraphernalia. This would invite possibilities to know and honor the names of the Mordechais and Esthers who were present throughout the Holocaust years. Jews and non-Jews sought to warn and fight against the destruction of the Jewish people. By giving so much attention to Haman/Hitler and his followers, we often neglect many extraordinary heroes. The reader can accept the challenge of comparing how many names might be remembered from the Nazi hierarchy with the names of the Righteous Among the Nations and Holocaust victims. This applied Purim lesson redirects us to prevent evil and identify role models while simultaneously drowning out the names of the perpetrators.

Yet we must remember that Purim is primarily a day of laughter and fun, commemorating when catastrophe was averted. "Purim" means lottery, a game of chance that Haman arbitrarily used to choose the exact day to slaughter the Jews in every Persian province, from India to Ethiopia.

We also must remember that even in the camps there was humor. The following joke circulated among Jewish inmates in many camps:

Hitler asked an astrologist if he would lose the war and perish.
Yes, he was told.
When, he asked.
On a Jewish holiday.
Which one?
Any day you die will be a Jewish holiday.

For ten years, Steve Lipman interviewed survivors to collect jokes, anecdotes, and puns from the time of the Holocaust for his book Laughter in Hell: Use of Humor During the Holocaust. He describes laughter as not only a distraction to help overcome fear, but as a life-affirming way to reinforce humanity and a sense of self. In honor of Purim, we share two stories of Lipman's Holocaust humor:

From Germany: Mr. Goldberg had a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin in 1938. The clerk denied him a visa, and excused his actions by pointing to a globe in the corner of the room and saying "You can't find a place on this globe that will give a visa to Jews." Mr. Goldberg replied, hopefully: "Don't you have another globe?"

From the Warsaw Ghetto: Haim was reading a tattered newspaper while waiting for a clandestine minyan to gather. Moshe walks in and peers over his shoulder. Shocked, he asks Haim: "Why are you reading this SS garbage, Der Sturmer? And on Shabbos!" Haim replied, "Look, it says here that the Jews have all the money! Jews run the world! Roosevelt is a Jew! Moshe, can't I dream a little?"

In Auschwitz, Viktor Frankl and another medical colleague explored ways to survive. They decided to tell a funny story every day about what will happen after liberation (Man's Search for Meaning, 1959). Many others joined them to create this compilation. Not only did this activity empower, it also created solidarity and reinforced hope.

Humor has kept the Jewish people resilient. By celebrating Purim with mirth and merriment, though it commemorates the first edict of genocide, we signal an annual occurrence when Jews find that the power of laughter is stronger than tears.

The Talmud says, in the name of Elijah, that there will be rewards in the world-to-come for those who brought laughter into this one (Ta'anit 22a).