The first exhibition of Holocaust in the Arab world opens, including Albanian aid

A Holocaust memorial exhibition, the first of its kind, has opened in the Middle East. The display “We remember! ” opened in Dubai for the public last month and for the rabbi of the Jewish Council of Emirates, Elie Addie, this exhibition is extremely important, as nothing similar has ever been organised in this region. He says the Holocaust also occurred in the countries of the Middle East in the 1940s, where Arab Jews in Libya, Tunisia and Iraq were persecuted because of the Nazis - inspired influences and Hitler ideologys that had overcome Europe.

The exhibition's mission is to educate and raise awareness of the Holocaust among more than 200 different Dubai nationalities. The Nazis killed more than six million Jews during the Holocaust, along with millions of others including disabled persons and LGBT, political dissidents and religious and ethnic minorities. Ahmed Obaid Almansoori, an Emira who founded the private museum, says it was time to open a Holocaust exhibition in the region to recall a terrible event -- a crime against humanity.

In a speech at the official opening of the exhibition, Peter Fischer, Germany's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said the Holocaust is “an eternal sign of shame for my country”, and that is why he is so pleased to see the exhibition.

The exhibition is based on stories of many children who died in Holocaust camps, part of Anna Frank's diary, as well as Arabs and Muslims who helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust. It highlights the history of coexistence among Arabs, Muslims, Christians and Jews in the 20th century.

Exhibition representative Yael Grafy tells CNN that there are so many stories about Arabs and Muslims who have helped Jews over time, and that's the positive side that people don't know. Hundreds of Jews sought refuge in Albania in 1943 and were welcomed by the majority of the Muslim population.

Among other things, the exhibition is dedicated to one of Albania's most sacred cultural traditions, known as “Besa” (“ “Albania is the only country from which Jews were really getting up after Holocaust”, he says.

Another story highlights the bravery during World War II of Selahattin Ulcumen, Turkey's Consul General on the Greek island of Rhodes, occupied by the Germans. In 1944 it was a small community of some 1700 Jews living on the island who were in danger of being killed. Ulcumen managed to save more than 42 Jews, but paid a heavy price as a result. The Germans bombed his house, leading to his pregnant wife's death. When asked why he did, he replied, “all I did was fulfill my duty to humanity”.

The exhibition closes, with a string from the Koran written in Arabic and translated into English: “Who saves a life, saves the whole world”.