Storke Plaza will be awash in candlelight tonight as the university community gathers to remember the Jewish Holocaust.

UCSB Hillel began a 24-hour name-reading of Holocaust victims last night in front of the UCen. A vigil will be held tonight at 8 upon the completion of the reading. The vigil is part of a week of Holocaust remembrance held in conjunction with the Israeli Yom Ha’shoah holiday, celebrated this year on April 27.

Tami Wheatley of Hillel said all students are welcome at the event regardless of religious background.

“There were 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, but there were 5 million others – including homosexuals, people with disabilities, gypsies and intellectuals,” she said. “People forget that.”

The names read aloud are drawn from a list provided by the Yad Yashem museum in Jerusalem. Volunteers will read names in shifts for 10-20 minutes. Hillel said spaces for readers are still available.

Participants at the vigil will hold candles and read the writings of Holocaust survivors. Wheatley, a third-year religious studies major, said about 30 people attended last year and that the vigil should last for about a half-hour

“It will be a nice conclusion to the name-reading,” she said of the candlelight vigil.