Transcript of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Attending Dedication of the Simon Wiesenthal Center

RABBI HIER:

I am honored to introduce the Governor, not because he has the high office of being the governor of the great state of California -- that would be one great reason to introduce him. Another great reason is he has been a loyal friend, personal supporter, of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for 25 years. I told the Governor upstairs when he was speaking to the board of trustees, when this building was being constructed in skeleton form, the Governor went up himself with a hardhat to inspect the dome to make sure that it was all according to specifications. And he has opened his home, his heart. He and Maria have been great champions of the Museum of Tolerance from its very inception. So it's my honor to introduce a great friend who happens to be the great governor of the state of California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Applause)

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:

Well, thank you very much, Rabbi Hier, for the very enthusiastic and great introduction. And I want to say also thank you very much, Governor Gray Davis, for being here today and also for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, for being here today. And why it is so great to have both of you here -- and of course I want to thank all the other dignitaries and elected officials that are here -- but why I want to point out both of you is because it's known of how much work that you have done for the Simon Wiesenthal Center and we appreciate it very much, for being such good friends. So let's give them a big hand for the great work that they have done. (Applause)

Now, as the Rabbi has said, that I am here today not only because of being the governor of the great state of California, but also because I'm a friend of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. And it is an honor to be back at the Museum of Tolerance, especially on Yom Hashoah and to help dedicate this incredible new exhibit commemorating the life and the work of Simon Wiesenthal.

No one is born a hater and no one is born a murderer; this is behavior that is taught and learned. So the best way to guard against it is to instead teach tolerance and understanding and love and inclusion. And the Simon Wiesenthal Center and this museum does exactly that for hundreds of thousands of school children and adults every year and I have seen personally the long lines outside this museum when I drive by here. And so want to just say congratulations -- congratulations to Rabbi Hier, Rabbi May and Board Chairman Larry Mizel for the amazing work that you do. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Let's give them a big hand. (Applause)

Now, I met Rabbi Hier more than 25 years ago when he called me and he asked if I would help raise money for the Simon Wiesenthal Center and for the Museum, which was at that point just a vision. And he asked me if I also would help bring some Hollywood personalities in -- directors, producers, actors and so on -- to embrace the idea of the Simon Wiesenthal Museum. And of course I was busy at that time with my movie career, but the only answer I could think of was yes. First of all, as you know, the Rabbi, Rabbi Hier, is very persuasive. But also, I believed that as a celebrity we have the responsibility of using that power of influence -- that power of influence for something good. And so this is why it has been a great, great pleasure for me to be involved with the Wiesenthal Center every since.

Now, you all know that I grew up in Austria, a country that I love dearly, but also a country where bigotry and hatred once led to atrocity and murder. As a matter of fact, my mother told me many stories about the Holocaust -- how she saw the bodies of people shot to death along the roadside when she went to work one morning and also another time when she saw bodies hanging from the tree of the state park, just because they were different from the majority of Austrians. So coming from a place like that and hearing those horrific stories from my mother, I vowed a long time ago to do everything that I could to promote tolerance and understanding.

I remember a few years back Rabbi Hier asked me even to go to Austria to speak out against that twisted but popular video game that was called KZ Manager. And it was all about, the goal here was to kill as many Jews in the shortest period of time possible. That's what the game was all about. Now, for some people that wasn't for the kids; it was a game but I found it very offensive and I could not get to Austria quickly enough and to lobby some of my old friends at the Ministry of Education to punish students caught playing that game. And then Austria passed laws and the game disappeared. So of course I took tremendous satisfaction from being able to help stamp out this hateful game.

Now, Simon Wiesenthal often said that hatred did not stop with the death of Hitler or Stalin. As a matter of fact, sadly, we know that from the world today. It lives on in places like Darfur and Rwanda and in the Middle East and even in corners of America. And I've always believed that if we are silent in the face of oppression and injustice we are somehow complicit in it. That is why I felt privileged to help organizations like the Simon Wiesenthal Center -- to go and to raise money, to contribute money and to help to build more museums like this and to attend the groundbreaking ceremonies and the openings, not only in America but also in Israel -- because we all have a responsibility to educate future generations about how we can overcome evil in this world.

Over the years I also got to know and became friends with Simon Wiesenthal. I still always treasure the party that we had for him in 1988 when we blew out the candles on a cake, his 80th birthday cake, which was wonderful. I remember making the joke to him -- you remember, Rabbi, when I said to him, I said, "Simon, you're getting to an age now where we need so many candles we need to have a fire truck pull up." (Laughter)

He laughed and he said, "What do you mean?" (Laughter) He was very funny. I also met with Simon in his home and in his Jewish Documentation Office in Vienna, that is being recreated and has been recreated now here, with all its original documents and books and artifacts and this interactive exhibit that we are dedicating here today. We had such wonderful conversations. I remember we talked about his childhood and growing up. We talked about his work and his passion and about his commitment to justice and dignity for all human beings. When museum visitors see this office here and they hear Simon's voice talking about the importance of never forgetting, I know they will be as inspired, as I was inspired.

So again, thank you very much, Rabbi Hier, for bringing another great piece of history and education to our great state, to the state of California and to the world. And Rabbi, you know where to find me when you need me. Thank you.