"Ani Maamin" (AH-nee MAH-ah-MEEN) is the title of an old Hebrew song that now is strongly associated with the Holocaust. The words, which come from the 13 Principles of Faith by Maimonides, were written in the 12th century. The words are translated into English as follows: "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and though he may tarry, still I will believe in him."
The tune is attributed to the Breslov Hasidim, who reportedly sang the song as they went into the gas chambers in the Nazi concentration camps. The song was then adopted by other Jewish prisoners and became known as The Hymn of the Camps. The song is the common domain, and is almost always heard at Holocaust Remembrance Day services. Some Jews also sing it on Tisha B'Av. It is also sometimes sung at the Passover seder, in memory of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which began on the first night of Passover in 1943.
"Ani Maamin" was also sung by the choir during Pope John Paul II's historic visit to the Synagogue of Rome on April 13, 1986.
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