SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Jared Huffman honored local resident Irving Zale at the State Capitol yesterday during the California Assembly Holocaust Memorial Ceremony as part of Holocaust Remembrance Week.  Over 70 survivors were in attendance to memorialize those who lost their lives and to tell the stories of those who survived.

“The memorial ceremony asks that we remember the Holocaust - That we honor the lives and experiences of the survivors of the Holocaust, give remembrance to the millions who lost their lives, and work to ensure that people understand the horrors of genocide,” Huffman said.

For the past five years, the California State Assembly has honored survivors during California Holocaust Memorial Week in April.  Through this project, Jewish agencies and synagogues pair students with survivors.  The students, during the time leading up to the ceremony, interviewed the survivors and wrote essays to describe the survivors’ experiences during the Holocaust, giving the young people an opportunity to hear first-hand about this tragic time.  The stories were compiled into a booklet and distributed to all the members of the State Assembly. 

Student Eli Paris wrote an excellent essay about Mr. Zale and his family, including details about the family being sent to Plaszow labor camp.  This camp was infamous for the atrocities of the Nazi’s, and the heroics of Oscar Schindler.  The camp was shown in Steven Spielberg’s famous move, “Schindler’s List.”

Mr. Zale last saw his parents on November 16, 1942, at the age of 16.  He has never found out exactly what happened to them.  The Red Cross reported years later that his father perished in Matthausen, and his mother passed away in Bergin-Belsen five days after the war.

Survivors sat with Assemblymembers at their desks during the ceremony, while students and other participants were invited to the gallery.  This year’s ceremony was particularly significant as Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary on May 14, 2008.

To read the powerful portrayals of courage and survival during one of the most horrific periods in human history please visit http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a21/pdf/HolocaustMemorialBook%20-%20Final.pdf