Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez is the head of the Centro Cristiano Bet-El Churches In Action, in South Gate, California.
“The Courage to Remember” is a historical exhibit of the Holocaust, created by the Simon Wiesenthal Center that has been viewed by millions in many countries across the six continents.
The exhibit, with some 200 original photographs, many never seen before, is a historical account of the Germany-Nazi murderous regime that systematically murdered 6-million Jews – also political dissidents, P.O.W.’s, slaves, Gypsies or Romany, homosexuals, and the mentally ill – during the 1939-1945 World War Two years.
“The Courage to Remember” first opened in 1988, is a powerful and compelling insight into the Holocaust, the most atrocious crime against humanity.
As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, I saw it my duty to accept Bishop Mendez’s invitation to the opening ceremony of “The Courage to Remember” display at his church.
The ceremony, attended by Rabbi Avraham Cooper, the Associate Dean, Director Global Social Action Agenda of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Carolyn Ben Natan, Director of public affairs of Israel Consulate General, Los Angeles, pastors, Islamic Imam, city officials, educators, distinct guests and parishioners, theme beyond the display of the Holocaust atrocities, was a path to unity and the strive to make the world a better place for each and every one of G-D’s children.
By putting on “The Courage to Remember” exhibit, Bishop Mendez and his church goers spoke out against the Holocaust’s horrific events, have thanked those who risked their lives to save others from the Nazis claws and remembered those whose lives were lost just because of ignorance and apathy.
It is important to educate and evaluate human behavior toward one another. Reflecting on the Holocaust is that lesson from which every human being must learn.
