The Zekelman Holocaust Center facts for kids

The Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, near Detroit, is Michigan's largest museum dedicated to remembering the Holocaust. It teaches visitors about this terrible time in history and helps prevent similar events from happening again.

History of the Center

The Zekelman Holocaust Center, first known as the Holocaust Memorial Center (The HC), was the first museum of its kind in the United States. It was started by Rabbi Charles H. Rosenzveig and other Holocaust survivors. These survivors, called Shaarit Haplaytah (meaning "the Remnant"), worked for nearly 20 years to make their dream a reality.

The museum first opened in October 1984 in West Bloomfield, Michigan. As it grew, a new, larger museum was built in Farmington Hills. This new center opened its doors to the public. Since it began, over a million people from all over the world have visited. Each year, thousands of schoolchildren tour the museum and can even speak with a Holocaust survivor.

In January 2022, the Holocaust Memorial Center was renamed The Zekelman Holocaust Center. This was done to recognize generous donations from the Zekelman family.

What the Center Does

The main goal of the Zekelman Holocaust Center is to "engage, educate, and empower by remembering the Holocaust." This means they want to involve people, teach them, and give them strength by learning about this history.

The Center does many things to achieve this. It offers tours for schools and groups. It has a large library with historical records and a gallery for art and history exhibits. The Center also hosts educational programs for different age groups. It has eleven main exhibits that tell the story of the Holocaust.

A key part of the Center's mission is to fight antisemitism (hatred against Jewish people) through education. They focus on the stories of survivors and the struggles of Jewish communities during the rise of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. By understanding this history, visitors learn how such terrible events could happen. The Center always uses the word "murdered" when talking about victims, to highlight the violent and hateful actions of those who caused the Holocaust.

Exploring the Exhibitions

The Eternal Flame and Memorial Wall

When you enter the Holocaust Memorial Center, you will see a flame that burns all the time. This "Eternal Flame" honors the memories of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust. In Jewish tradition, a candle is lit for 24 hours to remember a loved one who has passed away. Since many victims have no known grave or anniversary, this flame burns constantly for them.

Next to the flame is the Memorial Wall. It lists the names of concentration and extermination camps, which were like unmarked graves for innocent people. The wall says, "These do I remember and for them my soul weeps." It lists camps like Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Dachau. Another part of the wall shows different countries in Europe and Africa, with the number of Jewish people murdered in each. The wall states that over 6 million Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust.

The Boxcar

One of the most powerful exhibits is The Boxcar. This is a real train car from World War II. It was used by the Nazis to transport Jewish people and others they considered "undesirable" to killing centers. The boxcar is the first exhibit visitors see.

Signs near the boxcar explain its history. They tell how more than 100 people were often crammed inside without food or water. The SS (a Nazi organization) even paid the railroad for these "one-way" tickets. The area around the boxcar is designed to look like a train station in Hamburg, Germany, where victims were taken from. This exhibit helps visitors understand the terrible conditions and inhumane treatment of those transported.

Museum of European Jewish Heritage

This large gallery shows what Jewish life was like in Europe before the Holocaust. It helps visitors understand the rich culture that was destroyed. The exhibit aims to teach about the important contributions Jewish people made to ethics, morals, education, and culture. This helps promote understanding between different cultures.

The museum includes a timeline of Jewish history, showing contributions from different communities, artists, and leaders. It also uses artwork, maps, photos, and videos to tell the story. There's even a replica of a shtetl, which was a small Jewish town in Eastern Europe.

This exhibit also shows the long history of antisemitism, even before and after the Nazis. It includes examples like the Blood libel (false accusations against Jews) and Pogroms (violent attacks on Jewish communities). This part of the exhibit helps explain that hatred against Jewish people has existed for a long time and that Jewish communities have always resisted it.

Descent Into Nazism

This exhibit takes visitors through a dimly lit hallway filled with Nazi artifacts. It begins with a large picture of Adolf Hitler. This section explains how antisemitism became a normal part of life in Nazi Germany.

It details the laws that took away Jewish people's rights, such as the Nuremberg Laws. These laws made it illegal for Jewish people to be German citizens or marry non-Jewish Germans. The exhibit also tells the story of Kristallnacht, or "the Night of Broken Glass," in 1938. During this night, synagogues were burned, Jewish homes and businesses were destroyed, and many Jewish people were murdered or sent to concentration camps.

The exhibit also shows that other groups were persecuted by the Nazis, including homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Romani people. It explains the Nazi leadership and their roles. It also highlights the story of the MS St. Louis, a ship carrying Jewish refugees who were turned away from many countries, showing the desperate situations Jewish people faced when trying to escape.

This section also covers the active resistance of Jewish communities in the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It shows how Jewish people fought back against the Nazi regime. The exhibit then moves into a timeline of Nazi expansion and World War II, leading to the "Final Solution" – the Nazi plan to murder all Jewish people. It shows how Nazis tried to hide their crimes and how different groups resisted.

The Camp System

This exhibit provides detailed information and videos about the many concentration and extermination camps. Visitors can enter a replica cattle car, similar to those used to transport victims. The entrance to this section looks like a gate from a Nazi concentration camp.

Camps began in 1933, first for political enemies. As the Nazi regime grew, more camps were built to murder Jewish people and other groups. While camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau are well-known, the exhibit emphasizes that thousands of camps existed across Europe. It explains how these camps were built and their role in the Nazi regime.

The Abyss

Before entering The Abyss, there is a warning about the disturbing images. This exhibit features a long hallway with many televisions playing video footage. This footage was collected by Dwight D. Eisenhower's order, requiring civilians and military personnel to record the horrific conditions found in the concentration and extermination camps. At the end of the hallway, there is a sculpture of a Jewish victim with a typical camp bunk behind them.

The Postwar Period

After The Abyss, this exhibit details what happened after the Nazi regime fell. It includes information about the Nuremberg trials, where Nazi leaders were judged for their crimes. A statement in the exhibit reminds visitors that "The Nuremberg War Crimes Trials brought 22 Nazi officials to court in 1945-1946. People were shocked by how ordinary the defendants seemed..." This highlights that ordinary people can commit terrible acts, and such crimes could happen again if we are not careful.

The center of this exhibit is dedicated to survivors. It tells the stories of orphans and displaced people after the Holocaust. It emphasizes the struggles and triumphs of survivors and their families as they rebuilt their lives around the world.

Portraits of Honor

The Portraits of Honor exhibit celebrates Michigan Holocaust Survivors. A ramp displays their portraits and tells their stories of life in metropolitan Detroit. This exhibit shows not only the suffering they endured but also their strength in overcoming one of humanity's greatest tragedies. It reminds us that despite genocide, Jewish people have fought, rebuilt, and created new lives for themselves.

The Viola & Garry Kappy Anne Frank Tree Exhibit and Garden

In 2009, the Center received a sapling (a young tree) from the famous white chestnut tree that grew outside Anne Frank's hiding place in Amsterdam. Anne Frank, who wrote a famous diary while in hiding, could only see this tree from her window. The exhibit explains her story and how her diary helps us understand the Holocaust. The sapling grows outside the exhibit, which includes signs detailing Anne Frank's life and contributions.

Anne Frank White Chestnut Tree Sapling at the Zekelman Holocaust Memorial Center.

The Harry & Wanda Zekelman International Institute of the Righteous

This institute honors people and groups who showed great kindness and bravery during times of evil or danger. It pays tribute to those who rescued and supported others, even when it put their own lives or families at risk. The exhibits include portraits and stories of these heroes, along with histories of organizations that performed good deeds.

Kindertransport Memory Quilts

The "Kindertransport" was a rescue effort that brought thousands of Jewish children from Nazi Germany to Great Britain before World War II. In 1988, Anita Grosz, whose father was a Kindertransport survivor, had the idea to preserve these memories through quilting. This exhibit displays quilts made by these "Kinder" (children), who are now adults. The quilts share their experiences and help tell the stories of trauma and memory through art and community.

Library Archives

The Center has a library with physical and online archives. These can be accessed by the public by appointment or through their website. The collections cover many topics related to the Holocaust, including: Antisemitism, Concentration Camps, European Jewish History, Ghettos, Personal Narratives, Resistance, and Survivor stories.

Community Involvement

The Zekelman Holocaust Center works with local and state communities to educate people. It hosts many events, such as the Yom HaShoah Commemoration (Holocaust Remembrance Day). The Center also offers learning programs for younger age groups and educational programs for adults. These programs include workshops for diversity, training for security professionals, and workshops for educators. They also offer museum experiences for middle and high school groups, and art and writing competitions for students. Each program highlights the historical and community importance of the Holocaust.

Images for kids

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  New Holocaust Memorial Center

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  Anne Frank White Chestnut Tree Sapling at the Zekelman Holocaust Memorial Center.

See also

In Spanish: Holocaust Memorial Center para niños