An exhibition on Swiss witnesses surviving the Holocaust during World War II opened at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum on Thursday. It is the first time that the exhibition has been put on in China after touring Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Singapore, Albania, Israel and Italy.

The exhibition, entitled "The Last Swiss Holocaust Survivors", presents the stories of survivors in Switzerland by displaying their black and white portraits and narratives of their life experiences with documentary videos.

The accounts of the witnesses in this exhibition keep the memory of Nazi atrocities alive, said Olivier Zehnder, consul general of Switzerland in Shanghai. He said that the exhibition would raise public awareness of this dark period in human history. People must realize the need to preserve and record witnesses' stories.

During World War II, tens of thousands of Jewish refugees came to Shanghai from Europe and mostly settled in an area in the northern part of the Suzhou River. They escaped Nazi atrocities with the help of Chinese people and established a deep friendship.

Sara Imas, a visitor of Jewish descent in Shanghai, said the exhibition was "impressive."

"These photos are closely related to us and they arouse people's conscience. We should take a more positive attitude and spend more time learning and understanding history," Imas said.