In an effort to inspire South Carolinians to remember and to learn from the Holocaust, and as a response to the creation of the Columbia Holocaust Memorial Monument, the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission is dedicated to promoting awareness of the Monument and fostering Holocaust education throughout South Carolina.Our Mission
The Mission of the Commission is to promote awareness of the Holocaust and to foster education in grades K-12 throughout the state of South Carolina. It is the hope of the commission to inspire all South Carolinians to remember the Holocaust and the lessons that it has taught. Only through constant, vigilant, and accurate information, will the children of this state be able to fully comprehend the enormity of the lives lost and the aftermath of this dark period in World History.
Latest Events
Richland Library Hosts Selden K. Smith Collection
Columbia, SC (June 28, 2023) – Richland Library welcomes items from the personal Holocaust collection of Dr. Selden K. Smith. Housed primarily at Richland Library Main (1431 Assembly St. 29201) the collection includes over 250 items.
Smith is well-known for giving Columbia Holocaust survivors a platform to tell their stories in the 1970s. He served on the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust since its founding in 1989 and remained active until his death in 2018. He proposed intensive teacher training and advocated for students who were interested in Holocaust education. Smith received the Order of the Palmetto (1997), was a United States Navy veteran of the Korean War, and was a Professor of History at Columbia College for 37 years.
The Dr. Selden K. Smith Holocaust Collection was donated to Richland Library by the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission. The partnership will allow the collection to be more easily available to our community – particularly educators.
Cardholders can check out items from the Dr. Selden K. Smith Holocaust Collection at our Main location on the third level as well as place holds at any of our 13 locations.
Along with the new collection, Richland Library is hosting Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. The exhibition will be on display at Richland Library Main, along with a series of related special events, from July 7 to August 18.
2021 Columbia Community Yom Hashoah Commemoration
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