Traveling Holocaust exhibit visits CSULB library

Opening Ceremony. Photo by College of Liberal Arts, CSULB.

A circle of tall panels stands in a small side room on the third floor of the University Library, dominating the tiny space with vivid photographs and graphic descriptions of the Jewish Holocaust. The atmosphere in the room is somber; there is no idle chatter nor hushed whispers. Visitors make their way slowly around the circle reading each panel, each dedicated to a particular chapter of the Holocaust, starting with the rise of the Nazi Party and coming to a horrific crescendo as the Final Solution reached its most barbaric.

The "Courage to Remember" is a traveling Holocaust exhibit, sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, first founded in 1991. Three identical exhibits are now making their way across California, stopping at schools, libraries, and other public venues in order to educate and to raise awareness for the Holocaust.

State Sen. Alfred Lowenthal at the exhibit.
Photo by Ashleigh Oldland, Gazettes.

The tour was sponsored by the Foundation for California after receiving a grant from the SNCF, or the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français, a French railroad company. A panel in the exhibit explains the reasoning behind the grant:

"The role of French Rail in the deportation of the Jews to the death camps rightfully stirs strong emotions, including in the US. Equally, this terrible tragedy continues to motivate SNCF, its board, its managers and its personnel, to support the cause of memory by making public and transparent all of the documents associated with the role of the company during the war."

The exhibit was on display at the CSULB library from September 19 until October 16.