To most, it’s a photograph of the deceased embedded in a history book, a diary of a compassionate young girl or a black and white film about a German businessman transforming a factory into a refuge.

But no matter how much exposure a person may receive to a history so horrific and deplorable, it will be difficult to imagine the entire scope of atrocities Jewish families faced in Europe during World War II.

For Murray Lynn, the Holocaust was never encapsulated by a textbook; it was ingrained in his memory.

Since retirement, Lynn, a survivor of Auschwitz, has devoted himself to teaching about the Holocaust.

“The key to fighting discrimination is education,” he said. “[The Holocaust] is a cautionary tale about intolerance. It’s about the system in Europe that for centuries did not tolerate different faiths.”

Today, National Holocaust Remembrance Day, Lynn will tell his story in hopes of fighting discrimination still present in the world. When Lynn first arrived in New York as a student in the late 1940s, he encountered a new world of freedom, yet he still faced bigotry.

“When I came to the States, there was very little known in the ’40s and early ’50s about the Holocaust,” he said. “People did not realize at the time the depth of the Holocaust and how much we suffered and how much we lost.”

Because of an extensive lack of knowledge of the Holocaust, Lynn and other immigrants who sought a better life in America were not treated as survivors of genocide, but rather became victims of more prejudice.

“We were treated disrespectfully. Because we were immigrants, people were afraid we might take something away from the local people.”

In the United States, ignorance often prevented Americans from speaking out against Hitler’s atrocities during the war. In Germany, however, it was silence in the face of knowledge that gave Nazism its power.

“What can happen when people remain silent? That’s what emboldened Hitler to engage in genocide because, for the most part, the world was silent, they did not speak up,” Lynn said. “And this applied to people at all levels. Common people, humanitarians, church leaders. There was not enough said and enough done to stop Hitler.”

It is sometimes said that some of the worst crimes in history were tolerated because of silence.

“In this political world, there is no outside. To remain neutral in the face of injustice, be it with regard to the genocide in Sudan or something taking place in your own backyard, means to support those who are committing the crime,” said Martin Kagel, department head of German and Slavic studies.

Lynn believes the same lessons learned in the Holocaust can be applied today to Darfur and other parts of Africa. He cited personal responsibility, education and government intervention as a means to end genocide in Africa.

Kagel offers philanthropy and education as ways to combat intolerance.

“Politically, the American government should be proactive, speaking out against the persecution of innocent people, and [the United States should] support financially U.N. efforts of peacekeeping,” he said.

“Students at UGA should engage to a greater extent with questions of genocide and the many complicated political, ethical and legal issues involved. More discussion will ultimately lead to more action on behalf those persecuted.”

Following Lynn’s presentation, the Athens-Clarke County public library will screen “Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh,” a documentary about a young writer and paratrooper who dedicated her life to prevent the deportation of Jews in Hungary.