ABOVE: Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center lights a candle in remembrance of Holocaust victims at an event held at Chulalongkorn University on Jan. 27.

Thailand needs to increase its understanding of history to more successfully engage the world today and build peace in Southeast Asia, according to a recent discussion of the Holocaust and genocide held at Chulalongkorn University.

Students, teachers and dignitaries gathered on the occasion of International Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27 to discuss legacies of genocide as much in Southeast Asia as in Europe, and why it matters today in Thailand just as much as elsewhere.

Israeli Ambassador Simon Roded, appearing along with his counterpart from the Czech Republic, artists and academics, said the event was intended “to teach lessons of the Holocaust and prevent future genocide” on a day which marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

Organized by the Israeli embassy and Chulalongkorn’s Rotary Peace Center, the university setting for the event had special significance, as noted by Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

Cooper said a late 2013 incident in which graduating seniors posed in front of a mural of Adolf Hitler, who was featured among various “superheroes,” underscored the need for greater awareness.

Photo: Simon Wiesenthal Center

Candles were lit as part of the ceremony and a moment of silence was held in memory of the 11 million lives that were lost at hands of the Nazis during World War II.

The primary discussion however addressed awareness, education and cultural relevance of the Holocaust and genocide in Southeast Asia.

Among speakers was renowned composer Somtow Sucharitkul, who said Thai people need to increase their understanding of history.

“The lack of knowledge is absolutely abysmal,” he said about awareness of what happened in Europe during World War II.

Somtow recently produced an adaption of “Brundibar,” an opera created during the Holocaust inside a Czech concentration camp. Cooper called on youth to leverage their technological savvy to work together to promote peace.

“We need armies of young people who understand the power of the selfie and of the internet and social networking and put it to work for great things,” Cooper said.

Chulalongkorn Professor Surichai Wun’gaeo spoke on the need for peace to counter hate and abuse of minority groups.

Chy Terith, executive officer of the Documentation Center of Cambodia who spoke on the lack of essential media coverage of crimes against humanity as perpetrated in his country by the Khmer Rouge. Cambodia is struggling to educated its children so they don’t forget of its brutal recent history.

The event concluded with the screening of award-winning documentary, “The Power of Good.”

A traveling exhibition from the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles called “The Courage to Remember” is on display until tomorrow on the first floor of the Mahitaladhibersra Building at Chulalongkorn University.

Isaiah Somanas is a junior Communication Arts student at Chulalongkorn University.

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