BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Central Valley Holocaust Memorial was unveiled at the Chabad Jewish Community Center in Bakersfield on Sunday, December 11th.
Officials say the site of remembrance is the result of over a decade of planning and community work, including the collection and counting of six million buttons.
Esther Schlanger with the Chabad says that each button represents an individual life lost during the holocaust.
"The idea is to remember the lives lost," explained Schlanger. "They should never be forgotten. They were individuals like me and you, unique like each button, and they were murdered just for being Jewish and we should never forget that because if we forget, history repeats itself."
Schlanger added that the message they want people to take away from the memorial is that when you do hateful things, there are consequences. She said Hitler spent over a decade full of hate and that it's important now to embrace everyone, regardless of race or religion.
