James Glover II / Star staff Jenn Garrison of Westlake Village portrays Anne Frank during practice for Oaks Christian's rendition of the play "The Diary of Anne Frank."

Goodness needs to be taught, and goodness needs to be learned.

That's one of the key lessons we can learn from the Holocaust, radio talk show host and author Dennis Prager said in a talk Monday at Oaks Christian School.

"Making good people is the most important thing a society can do," Prager said. "Parents cannot do it alone."

Prager's talk launched a commemoration of Anne Frank's legacy this month at the private school in Westlake Village. Oaks Christian also will display an exhibit from the Anne Frank Center in New York, and students will perform "The Diary of Anne Frank." The young Jewish girl's moving diary about hiding out from the Nazis during World War II before her death in a concentration camp has become a symbol of Holocaust suffering.

The school is hosting the commemoration because the Holocaust remains relevant today, said theatre arts director Rosalind Allen-Enciso, citing killings in Turkey, Croatia, Rwanda and Sudan.

"We live in crazy times," said Allen-Enciso, who helped organize the event and who is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. "It's important to teach our students the lessons we've learned."

The exhibit, "The Anne Frank Story — A History for Today," opens today.

It will display photos from the Frank family's photo album, other historic photos and entries from Anne Frank's diary. Students will serve as docents, leading visitors through the exhibit.

In addition, students will perform "The Diary of Anne Frank" in the school's new theater.

For Danielle German, the assistant stage manager, the play is a chance to remind people of Anne Frank's message.

"When there's discrimination against another ethnicity or another religion, it's just wrong," said German, 16, of Thousand Oaks. "It can end up hurting (people) to the point where the Holocaust happened."

That's why goodness must be taught, Prager said Monday. And it's why education isn't worth much if it doesn't include values, he said.

For that reason, he supports schools like Oaks Christian and home-schoolers, said Prager, receiving a round of applause from the audience of 200 people, in addition to students and faculty.

"There's no connection between education and goodness unless it's a moral education," Prager said.