LEST WE FORGET, the message echoing around the San Francisco City Hall was clear: nobody should ever forget the Holocaust and the pain and suffer it caused to the Jewish community and to the world.  

The project, by German-Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is a testament to all survivors, their families and stories. It represents the voice of six millions victims of the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The word “Holocaust” is of Greek origin and is made of the Greek words “holos” (whole) and “kaustos” (burned), historically used to describe a sacrificial offering burned on an altar. Since 1945, the word stands for racism, persecution, and mass killing.