Holocaust Remembrance Day observed at UNLV by community leaders
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Monday, January 27th, 2025 was International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp.
To honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust on Holocaust Remembrance Day, UNLV hosted an educational event on-campus featuring community leaders like Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley and Commissioner Michael Naft among others. This year's event also centered on a discussion to consider the significance of the Holocaust and Genocide today.
UNLV history professor Gregory Brown is also the co-chair of UNLV's task force of Jewish Identity and Inclusion. Brown said he is proud to see the community engagement and collaboration with several organizations on such an important topic.
'This is a city that has had a vibrant community around Holocaust and genocide education and again that's something the university hasn't always been a part of because so many of us work in isolation,' Brown explained. 'We teach our classes, but to develop a program with colleagues with some around these very important questions is really where our focus is now. We're going to have a law professor speak with the students around research and also around the broad history of understanding the Holocaust and the history of genocide.'
One of those organizations is the Nevada Center for Humanity.
Heidi Straus is the president of the nonprofit and was instrumental in opening 'The Holocaust: Reconstructing Shattered Humanity' exhibit at the governor's office last month.
The exhibit highlights the experiences of Jews and those who fought to protect those targeted in these acts of injustice.
'At the end of the day, we have to think about people and the humanity lost. We have to think about what man is capable of….incredible greatness but also incredible evil, ' Straus remarked. 'These were men, people, making choices to do certain acts. These were people and it's important to understand how it happened and how we got to this place. So we study the history and it goes back thousands of years to antisemitism unfortunately but the Holocaust was unique and it takes maybe a lifetime to understand it.'
Local leaders agreed it is important to remember and study our past so we never repeat atrocities like this again in the future.
Holocaust: Reconstruction Shattered Humanity exhibit is now open at the governor's office in Las Vegas. You can see the exhibit through a self-guided tour by appointment only.
You can contact Heidi.Straus@unlv.edu to make an appointment.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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