Students, religious authorities and Harvard officials read out the names of Holocaust victims on the steps of Widener Library yesterday in observance of the Israeli holiday, Yom Hashoah.

The day-long reading was par of Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel's observance of Yom Hashoah, a state holiday in Israel which commemorates the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, said Aimee L. Kahan '95, the event's organizer.

Kahan said many non-Jewish people participated in the reading. Ministers from local churches and also members of the Catholic Students Association and Black Students Association read, in addition to members of Hillel.

"We got the list [of Holocaust victims] from Washington," said Kahan. "I believe it's a compilation from archives the Nazis kept of people they killed."

The names on the list were organized into units by family or camp. Kahan said, "each year we pick up where we left off [on the list] the previous year."

Ninety people attended a Yom Hashoah memorial service Wednesday night and listened to readings of poetry and diary entries from the Holocaust, Kahan said.

Visitors to the Yard yesterday were quiet as they passed the steps or stopped to listen to the speakers.

"I've noticed [that] when people walk by they stop talking," said Aditi M. Shrikhande '97.

As the bell of Memorial Church range, a speakers read a series of people. with the same name, "Karl Kohn, Karl Kohn KarlKohn."

John R. Greenwell '95 said, "It's a littleoverwhelming." The speaker continued, "Fanny Kohn,Fanny Kohn, Fanny Kohn."

Milly G. Geeter, a Cambridge resident whostopped to listen, said the reading caught herattention and stopped her on her way to theairport.

"I was rushing to catch a plane and heard thisand decided this is really much more important,"she said.

Kahan said one man was walking out of Widenerwhen heard his own name read. She said he was so"shaken" that he went down to tell the organizersstanding at the bottom the steps.

Another listener said he was so affected by thereading that it left his speechless.

"I couldn't put into words this kind ofthing...it calls for silence more than quotes," hesaid