OTTUMWA — Though one rider called the event a “show of unity,” the sound of 14 closely packed motorcycles was more like a “roar of unity.” The Jewish bikers said they don’t want others to forget the Holocaust — or to see others go through one.

“This is about getting the word out,” said Lauren Secular, of New York City, an officer of the “Chai Riders” motorcycle club (Chai, which rhymes with high, is a Hebrew concept for “living”).

She rode into Ottumwa Wednesday afternoon, just ahead of her peers.

The word she wants to spread is that the Holocaust killed six million Jews, as well as millions of others in Nazi-occupied Europe, and must not be forgotten. She and her fellow riders — affiliated with the Jewish Motorcyclist Alliance of clubs — are on their way to Holocaust memorial ceremonies this week in Omaha and Lincoln, Neb.

“Remembering the Holocaust helps [promote] tolerance in the world,” said Shirah Kushner of Chicago, who arrived at the hotel and parked her motorcycle near Secular’s.

“As long as you keep awareness, it can’t happen again,” Secular said. “We ride to remember.”

Yet the goal of the Heartland Holocaust Education Fund — the riders’ destination in Nebraska — is about more than memorializing a past tragedy.

In fact, one of the organization’s founders told the Courier by phone, “This is not about the past, it’s about the future.”

Sam Frieb explained he and his group never want to see anything like the Holocaust occur again — to any group of people.

“Our [mission] is to protect the defining doctrine of not only America but also of free men and women around the globe — that people of all races and religions be treated equally and without prejudice,” he said.

It is important to remember the past, he acknowledged, not to dwell, as victims, but to learn from it, in part to work in preventing hatred from destroying others.

“I was in Auschwitz,” he said. “It’s too late for the victims.”

Most riders in Ottumwa Wednesday supported the idea that future attempts at genocide could be prevented by education on the consequences of hatred.

But some believed there is a Holocaust going on right now.

“This ride we’re going on is a memorial ride, to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive,” said Mindi Wynne of The Dayton (Ohio) Sons of Israel motorcycle club.