Holocaust Museum Houston Digital Newsletter November 2015

REMEMBRANCE

Holocaust MuseumHouston is a space of difference, a place where history and memory are mined and interwoven. The Museum must continue to find ways to open doors to possibility that provide entry points into a dialogue with a difficult past, a conversation with the present and hope for the future. The Museum must preserve the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and honor the survivors’ legacy to accomplish that task. By focusing on such fascinating and thought-provoking events in history, such as the Armenian Genocide and the internment of Japanese-Americans in the United States during World War II, as well as the events of 9/11 with the moving exhibit “Ground Zero: Never Forget,” the Museum used a variety of methods to achieve that goal during the past fiscal year. Special exhibitions included: • “Birthrights Left Behind” • “Ground Zero 360: Never Forget” • “Life: Survivor Portraits” • “The Rescuers: Picturing Moral Courage” • “Soul Survivors” • “The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust: One Man To complement the exhibit lineup, the Museum also hosted a variety of public programs featuring internationally known speakers such as Dr. Richard Hovannisian and Dr. Taner Akcam on the Armenian Genocide, Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt on the preservation of Auschwitz and Alexandra Zapruder on memory and writing in the Holocaust realm. The Museum also presented films such as “Carl Lutz: The Forgotten Hero,” “The Untold Story of Ralph Carr and the Japanese” and “The Last Mentsch.” Each January, the Museum joins with the American Jewish Committee to host International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The 2015 event honored Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish humanitarian who worked in Budapest during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. The Museum also brings hundreds of Houstonians together to remember the lost families of our local survivors each April during Yom HaShoah. And the Museum’s two largest events brought large crowds to help the Museum continue to teach the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy. Holocaust Survivor Edith Mincberg and Takes a Stand” and • “The Art of Gaman”

Silk dress worn by one-year-old Chaja Verveer, who was separated from her mother and placed in hiding with another family.

Holocaust Museum Houston is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust, remembering the 6 million Jews and other innocent victims and honoring the survivors’ legacy. Using the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides, we teach the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy. her late husband Josef were honored with the Guardian of the Human Spirit Award at the Museum’s annual luncheon, which raised more than $730,000. Diplomats Dr. Ho Feng-Shan and Chiune Sugihara received the 2015 Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage award at the Museum’s annual dinner, which brought in almost $1.3 million.

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GRATITUDE REPORT 2015