For Judith Steel, remembering the Holocaust is necessary for the world to progress toward a positive future.
"Remembrance is the secret of redemption," Steel, a Holocaust survivor, said to students and faculty Tuesday afternoon in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Cardinal Hall. "We must all remember this tragedy, and we must all learn about it so we don't have to witness something like that again."
Steel's presentation, "Hiding to Survive," took place in conjunction with Yom Ha-Shoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event was sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Zeigler Committee for Jewish Studies and the Honors College.
George Wolfe, director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, said Steel's speech was beneficial "so students can receive firsthand knowledge of the Holocaust and be reminded that genocide continues even today."
A key part of Steel's history goes back to 1939, when she and her parents were passengers on the St. Louis, a boat filled with European Jews who hoped to find refuge in the United States and escape Nazi persecution. The U.S. State Department, however, turned the St. Louis away and sent it back to Europe. For the following few years, a French Catholic family hid Steel from the Nazis.
Steel, a concert artist who often tells her story through poetry and song, began her speech Tuesday with a song dedicated to all of humanity.
"I somehow get inspired by the music I play and the songs I sing," Steel said. "It brings me to certain memories."
Steel said she has been fortunate to be able to participate in the past with the March of Remembrance and Hope, a student leadership mission that explores the history of the Holocaust and aims to promote better relations among people of diverse cultures.
"I was able to bond with many of these students," Steel said. "What an experience that was for me ... going on the [March of Remembrance] was a gift - a real gift from God."
When the group traveled to Poland once, it was able to visit Auschwitz, which was established in 1940 as a concentration camp. Steel, who has visited Auschwitz twice, said she wished more young people could go there and become aware of its awful history.
And though learning about the six million Jews who were slaughtered during the Holocaust is important, students should also be aware that other groups, such as gypsies, were persecuted as well, she said.
What causes such disagreement and suffering throughout the world are barriers in religion and race, she said.
"We should put a stop to it," Steel said. "Look at what's happening to this world. Look at the genocide that's happening."
If Steel had to say one final phrase to the world, she said her words would be "Let there be peace - and love."
A song she played on guitar at the end of her speech featured the words, "I promise you child, you'll never cry again. All wars will end; there will be peace and no more pain."
Wolfe said Steel's overall message of promoting peace and going beyond the barriers of race and religion was significant.
Graduate student Cortney Robbins, who is taking a class with professor Frank Felsenstein that focuses on remembering the Holocaust, said she also appreciated being able to see Steel speak in person.
"I think it's important to hear survivors speak because they're getting old, and it's going to be less possible as time goes on," Robbins said.
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