Plans continue on Holocaust memorial in Niskayuna

NISKAYUNA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A new memorial is coming to Niskayuna to help the Capital Region remember and honor the victims of the Holocaust. The group behind the project is hoping to inspire others to confront hate.

It's been over five years since the idea came about, but Niskayuna may finally see construction start on a Holocaust memorial.

"The land was donated by Bishop Scharfenberger and the church, the Catholic church," David Dembling, President of the Capital District Holocaust Memorial and one of the designers of the project, said.

Dembling said the memorial will be in the shape of the Star of David.

"There are symbols of the Holocaust, but in a timeline fashion," he explained. "The first stop is what life was like before the Holocaust. And then the progression of the Holocaust works around in a counter-clockwise-like manner, from Kristallnacht to the final solution. And then in the center, there's an opportunity to bear witness or to have an area for reflection."

The six columns represent the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

"Today, more than ever, we see anti-Semitism, we see intolerance, we see hate," Dembling said. "The backdrop of the story of the Holocaust is just an example of what humans do to each other. And really, our education program that we're developing today speaks against that. And our plan is to have people visit our memorial, be touched by the story, and to be encouraged."

In addition to the monument, the group is developing an app for school-aged children, who, under New York State law, are required to learn about the Holocaust.

"So this is an excellent opportunity, rather than simply reading -- not that there's anything wrong with it -- simply reading about a couple of chapters out of Anne Frank, to actually learn the entire story and to have that curriculum based here," Dembling said.