Edison High School installs Holocaust exhibit from the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Students attending a ceremony marking the opening of "The Courage to Remember" traveling Holocaust exhibit at Edison HighA powerful lesson on the Holocaust has been brought to the campus of Edison High School.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s “The Courage to Remember” traveling exhibit, which serves as a tribute to the six million Jews — and millions more — murdered by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945, as well as a warning that the root causes of the Holocaust persist, has been assembled in the faculty dining room at the Huntington Beach campus, where it will be open to students through Nov. 29.

The public will have opportunities to tour the installation on Nov. 27 and Nov. 29 from 3 to 6 p.m., according to district officials.

“Ignorance and racism have no place in society today,” Edison High Principal Jennifer Graves said. “When particular groups are targeted by hate, we are all at risk. ‘The Courage to Remember’ Holocaust exhibit helps our students learn these important lessons from a tragic episode of the 20th century.”

Holocaust survivor Sam Silberberg
Holocaust survivor Sam Silberberg speaks at a ceremony marking the opening of “The Courage to Remember” traveling Holocaust exhibit at Edison High School. (Photos courtesy of HBUHSD)

Produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance and presented by the Foundation for California, the exhibit leverages augmented reality technology through its “Be Tolerant” app and features more than 200 exclusive photographs and video interviews.

The Holocaust’s devastation is captured in four time periods: Nazi Germany, 1933-1938; Moving Toward the “Final Solution,” 1939-1941; Annihilation in Nazi-occupied Europe, 1941-1945; and Liberation, Building New Lives.

“Two decades after we first designed this exhibit, its lesson is still vital to peace at home and abroad,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “Its timeless messages reflect the words of Simon Wiesenthal: ‘Hope lives when people remember.’”

To date, ‘The Courage to Remember’ has traveled to more than 16 countries in 20 years, including a tour throughout California and the Southeast. More than two million people have seen the exhibit in California alone.

Its latest stop is Orange County, which has seen alarming increases in the rates of hate crimes and hate incidents over three straight years, according to statistics compiled by OC Human Relations.

“This exhibit on the Shoah is a critical tool for helping today’s youth learn the difficult lessons of how hate can rip apart neighborhoods,” Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy said. “We are encouraged that visitors here will take to heart its teachings and help build bridges among different communities.”

Added Dr. Alfred Balitzer, chairman of the Foundation for California, “‘The Courage to Remember’ empowers young and old to learn from history, confront bigotry and fight for justice. This exhibit is not a luxury, it is a necessity in all communities.”

For more information on “The Courage to Remember,” its partners or its schedule, visit www.couragetoremember.com.