Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia will be one of the first stops in Missouri for a traveling exhibit recounting the stories of people who survived the horrors of the Holocaust.

Beginning Friday, Apr. 23, photos of 19 survivors will go on display on the lawn of the Heckart Performing Arts Center, along with stories about their lives. Social studies teacher Ashley Young, who teaches a Holocaust history course at Smith-Cotton, says the exhibit, titled “Lest We Forget”, is the vision of Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, who has documented the photos and stories of hundreds of Holocaust survivors.
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Young says many of the featured photos are of Jews from Hungary and Ukraine who the Nazis forced into concentration camps during World War II.

Several of the featured survivors later relocated to the St Louis area. Smith-Cotton is one of two Missouri high schools hosting the exhibit this month. Young says he hopes to help community members not only learn about the Holocaust, but also put a face to the horrors experienced.

The “Lest We Forget” exhibit at Smith-Cotton High School will open to the public from April 23 through May 5, each afternoon from 4 until 8 p.m.