Palm Desert Marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day With 17th Annual Ceremony

The Gerald R. Ford Chapter of the Mensch International Foundation is holding its 17th annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration on Wednesday morning in Palm Desert, marking the anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation and honoring the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust.

The United Nations designated yesterday, January 27, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005, coinciding with the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz.

The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. at the Palm Desert Civic Center Amphitheater. A remembrance walk to the nearby Palm Desert Holocaust Memorial will follow. Hundreds are expected to attend, including students from schools across the Coachella Valley and the ambassadors of Hungary and Denmark.

Steven Geiger, founder and executive director of the Mensch International Foundation, is the son of a Holocaust survivor and has dedicated his work to Holocaust education and tolerance.

"The basic messages go beyond just the Holocaust," Geiger said when talking about what he hopes students take away from the event. "They should all respect the people they go to school with, no matter what their color, no matter what their religion, or if they don't have a religion or don't believe in anything. Each person has a right to believe in whatever they want."

The event is free and open to the public.