In a gala celebration in Beverly Hills, President Barack Obama received the USC Shoah Foundation Ambassador for Humanity Award.
The Shoah Foundation was founded by Steven Spielberg. It is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Spielberg, the director of Schindler’s List, and President Obama appeared together at the event. They presented a video program about Shoah at 8PM.
Obama told the crowd that because of Schindler's List "we were reminded that the Holocaust was not a matter of distant history. The voices, the memories of survivors became a part of us. It entered into our DNA. That's what stories do,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Obama also reminded the audience about current events. He said the ”devastation in Syria, murders and kidnappings in Nigeria, and tribal conflicts elsewhere in the world underscore that decades after the Holocaust, ‘we have not yet extinguished man’s darkest impulses,’” according to the Associated Press.
Barbra Streisand, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kim Kardashian appeared at the gala. The event was hosted by Conan O’Brien and featured a performance by Bruce Springsteen.