Never Forget! A New Holocaust Memorial In RivCo Will Break Ground Soon

MURRIETA, CA — A group of Murrieta residents has worked for ten years to see the groundbreaking of Southwest Riverside County's newest Holocaust Education Memorial.

On Sunday at 2 p.m., a groundbreaking ceremony is planned for the memorial at Murrieta Town Square Park, located at Memorial Way in Murrieta.

"Join us as we honor history and work together to ensure these lessons endure for future generations," said organizers in a recent social media post. The group, led by Irv Michlin, Randy Denham, and others, is intent on educating and providing truthful education about the Holocaust and issues of antisemitism. They have raised over $100,000 toward the memorial's construction and are seeking more supporters, according to a report by The Press-Enterprise's Carl Love.

Love recently shared on the memorial, the foundation, and Southwest Riverside County's rich Jewish history.

"Southwest Riverside County has been known as a bastion for Christians and when I moved here in 1988, it was often called the Bible Belt of Southern California," Love wrote. "Yet Jews also have a rich history here. According to the foundation’s website, Louis Wolf, a Jewish immigrant, helped run the first store in Temecula in the mid-1800s."

Other Holocaust Memorials are in place, such as the one in Lake Elsinore's Elsinore Valley Cemetery.

Read more on the area's Jewish immigrants, the history, and the people behind the Holocaust Memorial.