On International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Holocaust survivors stood in front of state lawmakers Monday to champion a bill requiring Holocaust education in Arizona schools.

Oskar Knoblauch told a crowd at the House Education Committee that during his frequent visits to Arizona schools, students ask him how the Holocaust happened and why.

"I try my best to teach them something about the holocaust," he said. "They need to know this. They need to know the truth."

The committee approved House Bill 2682, introduced by Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, to advance in the Legislature. It still needs final approval from both chambers.

The bill would require schools to teach students,at some point between seventh and twelfth grades, about the Holocaust and other genocides. Arizona does not currently require any kind of Holocaust education.

"No education can be complete without learning about the Holocaust," Committee Chairwoman Michelle Udall, R-Mesa, said during the vote. All the lawmakers present voted in favor of the bill.

Knoblauch described "upstanders" in his remarks, people who he said stand up for others when they see something wrong. The people who stood up to Nazis to defend Jewish people during the Holocaust were upstanders, he said.

Making sure students learn about the Holocaust will create more upstanders, Knoblauch said.

"This is what the kids tell me: 'Thank you, I will be an upstander for the rest of my life,'" he said.

The youngest survivors of the Holocaust are now in their 70s, and many of the older ones have died.

"Most of the Holocaust survivors are dying out," Theresa Dulgov, another survivor, said. "We have to make sure it’s taught so it does not happen again. We can’t forget what happened before."

Reach the reporter at Lily.Altavena@ArizonaRepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @LilyAlta.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.