Kendrick Wilson

All last week, the UA's Hillel Foundation, in conjunction with other community groups, put together a Holocaust remembrance conference called "United We Stand, Together We Remember." Events included a Holocaust Memorial Vigil, which took place on the UA Mall. Students read aloud names of victims starting Monday and ending Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday, a short film and panel discussion of people with disabilities in the Holocaust took place. On Friday, author Edwin Black gave a talk titled, "Missing the big picture: Limitations in Holocaust research" at the Hillel Foundation.

While history is not the most exciting topic for some, its importance could not be greater. Unless the Holocaust is widely understood, there is always a chance something of that magnitude could happen again.

Twelve memorial, or yahrzeit, candles were lit on the stage on the Mall, each one representing 1 million people killed in the Holocaust. This year's program also highlighted the 6 million non-Jewish Holocaust victims. Rebecca Sodomsky, a creative writing junior, pointed out, "There were 6 million Jewish people who died, but there were 6 million others who died as well."

The Holocaust was unquestionably one of the most striking examples of how people can ruthlessly destroy other people. The Nazi regime was one of the most powerful displays of bigotry in history. People were brought to hate other people and the result was genocide.

On Friday night, a group of local Holocaust survivors spoke to students during Shabbat. Future generations will not have the privilege of hearing directly from Holocaust survivors, and the opportunity to hear from them was exceptional.

Despite the efforts of many people, bigotry remains an issue everywhere. In a time when we have come so far, it is unbelievable to think that racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination still exist in our society. Those elements cannot be eliminated simply by outlawing them; rather, the people who hold those beliefs must be educated.

America is certainly not alone. Persecution against certain cultural and religious groups remains a problem in nearly every African nation, and is prevalent throughout much of the Middle East. Just as America was not interested in addressing the Nazis before Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan, America seems rather indifferent to much of the genocide taking place in Africa today. Blindly interfering with civil wars in other countries would not be wise, but Americans unquestionably must learn more about the problems facing people around the world.

Probably the most obvious, but also the most important, reason for remembering the Holocaust is to prevent any act of intolerance and genocide of that magnitude from ever happening again. As I heard the names being read, I thought of my ancestors who emigrated from Poland near the turn of the century, already feeling persecution against the Jews. It could have been them, and it was their friends and relatives. I thought of the people who never had a chance to grow up, who never had a chance to attend college.

Brian Block, a media arts freshman, was one of the readers of names of Holocaust victims. "I felt sadness, frustration and anger," he said, "Think of all the people who died, all the people who never had the chance to be born. This is what blind hatred does."

And blind hatred is exactly what drove Nazi atrocities. People hated other people and didn't thoroughly question why they hated them.

"The actions and outcome brought on by the Nazis represents humanity at its worst and most irrational. So, to educate others on the horrors of the Holocaust, in a way, keeps us from ever having to experience it ourselves," Block added.

History must not be repeated. The students who participated in last week's conference helped to keep us from forgetting the Holocaust and continue much-needed work to bring tolerance and understanding to our society.

Much progress has been made, but as long as there are those who do not respect other cultures, the job is far from over.