TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — In a moving ceremony held at CANDLES Holocaust Museum, students from Terre Haute South High School marked World Holocaust Remembrance Day by reflecting on the lives lost and the lessons history must continue to teach.
The students toured the museum, which was founded by Holocaust survivor Eva Kor, and participated in a candle-lighting ceremony to honor the millions of Jews and others murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II.
The students read a passage and lit candles for families annihilated in the Holocaust, for families that never even had the chance to exist, and for those who had the courage to stand up, including the brave soldiers who helped liberate the camps.
“Yom HaShoah is World Holocaust Remembrance Day, Executive Director of CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center said. “It’s a chance for everyone across the world to solemnly remember the atrocities that happened by the Nazi’s and their collaborators, the killing of six million Jews during the Holocaust and the countless others that were killed all across the world during World War II.”
Fears emphasized the importance of honoring both the victims and the survivors, noting that while many are no longer with us, their stories should continue to be told.
For student Tanner St. Juliana, the ceremony carried deep personal meaning.
“Lighting that candle meant that I was willing to support those who maybe I can’t relate with, those who suffered,” Juliana said. “I think that it’s incredibly important for us as a community to be able to come out in support of that, and I feel so honored to be able to do that.”
CANDLES, which stands for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors, is Indiana’s only Holocaust museum. It’s located at 1532 S. Third St. in Terre Haute. It offers tours, exhibits, and survivor testimonies that teach visitors about the Holocaust and the need to stand against hate and the importance of forgiveness.
