People came together in Bergen County ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day to commemorate the lives lost.

Monday marks 80 years since the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated in 1945.

"Reminds us that we have to remember that the Holocaust was a watershed for all of humanity," said Rabbi Ronald Roth of the Fair Lawn Jewish Center.

"The past is always with us. This Jewish center that we're standing in, Congregation B’nai Sholom/Fair Lawn Jewish Center, was built by survivors of the Holocaust, and it comprises several other synagogues," said Mayor Gail Friedberg Rottenstrich.

The commemoration event serves as a time to remember the victims, and the Jewish culture, through music and personal stories. For many, it's a part of their family history – some second and third generation survivors.

"We have a very special connection to the past here, which gives us a special obligation to remember, to remember those who perished and to remember those who survived," said Rottenstrich.

Roth says New Jersey residents are fortunate that the state mandates Holocaust education.