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Established | 1996 |
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Location | Houston, Texas |
Type | Holocaust museum |
Public transit access | Museum District |
Website | www |
The Holocaust Museum Houston is located in Houston's Museum District, in Texas. It is the fourth largest holocaust museum in the U.S. It was opened in 1996. [1]
The Boniuk Center houses Holocaust Museum Houston's Education Department, including four classrooms, staff offices, storage rooms, and a library. The Holocaust Museum Houston Engines of Change Student Ambassador Program introduces Houston-area high school students to Holocaust history and enables them to better understand current issues and to develop their own informed opinions and voices. The Educator in Motion program is a free school and community outreach program that provides educational programming on the Holocaust, genocide, social justice, and active citizenship in school and community settings. The museum, working with colleagues from the Anti-Defamation League Southwest Region and the Houston Police Department, offers training for recruits, in-service, and command-level law enforcement officers in this day-long session. Another educational resource the museum offers are the Digital Curriculum Trunks.
Morgan Family Welcome Center
Patrons enter the museum via the Morgan Family Welcome Center, which includes an orientation film and exhibition materials in English and Spanish.
Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers
The permanent Holocaust Gallery contains the testimony of Holocaust survivors who later settled in the Houston area, featuring artifacts donated by the survivors, their descendants, liberators, and other collectors. The exhibit also educates visitors about Jewish and non-Jewish resistance efforts, including the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, prisoner revolts, sabotage, the partisan movement, displaced person camps, and life after the Holocaust.
World War II-era Railcar and the 1940s Danish Rescue Boat
Placed next to each other in the Holocaust Gallery is a fishing boat like those used by Danish fishermen to ferry Jewish neighbors to neutral territory and a World War II-era railcar like the ones that transported Jews to concentration camps and killing centers. As part of the museum's expansion, these artifacts were brought inside the permanent Holocaust Gallery to protect them from the elements.
Dimensions in Testimony
USC Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony exhibition, featuring Houston-area Holocaust survivor William J. "Bill" Morgan, allows visitors to have "virtual conversations" with Holocaust survivors by asking questions of their HD projections, which then answer in real-time via pre-recorded video images. Each recorded interview enables viewers to ask questions of the survivor about their life experiences and hear responses in real-time, lifelike conversation. Questions are answered as if the survivor is in the room, and through AI, the more questions asked, the better the technology becomes. Dimensions in Testimony is housed in the permanent Holocaust Gallery.
Human Rights Gallery
The new Human Rights Gallery will feature educational displays of all UN-recognized genocides as well as tributes to international human rights leaders, including Malala Yousafzai and Martin Luther King Jr.
The Rhona and Bruce Caress Gallery – And Still I Write: Young Diarists on War and Genocide
And Still, I Write: Young Diarists on War and Genocide highlights the diaries of young people who wrote during war and genocide. The Gallery features six interactive diaries stations with 12 diarist stories rotating between them to educate visitors about the very personal stories of the Holocaust, as well as the existing dangers of hatred, prejudice, and apathy. Visitors will be able to access and utilize these electronic diaries, providing them with the unique use of interactive, experiential technology. In addition, the Gallery will include a historical exhibit on Anne Frank.
Two Changing Galleries
The museum also includes two changing galleries for art and photography exhibits. The Central Gallery is naturally located in the center of the museum building. The Josef and Edith Mincberg Gallery is a larger hall for more extensive displays.
Lack Family Memorial Room
The Lack Family Memorial Room is a quiet place for contemplation. It contains a three-part work of art comprising the Wall of Remembrance, the Wall of Tears, and the Wall of Hope. The Memorial Wall is where local Holocaust survivors can commemorate their lost loved ones.
Eric Alexander Garden of Hope
Outside the Memorial Room is a quiet garden known as the Eric Alexander Garden of Hope. It is dedicated to the eternal spirit of children and is in memory of the one and a half million children who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
The Jerold B. Katz Family Butterfly Loft
Suspended as if in flight, the Butterfly Loft sculpture is a kaleidoscope of 1,500 butterflies that connects all three floors of the museum in an organically shaped swarm. Each butterfly represents 1,000 children and together is a memorial to the 1.5 million children murdered in the Holocaust.
The Boniuk Center for the Future of Holocaust, Human Rights, and Genocide Studies – Second Floor
The Boniuk Center for the Future of Holocaust, Human Rights, and Genocide Studies provides research and a scholarly forum to consider how to best educate our community and others around the world about the history of the Holocaust.
Samuel Bak Gallery
The museum will debut the nation's largest gallery of artwork by Holocaust survivor and painter Samuel Bak, with more than 130 works in exhibition rotation. The gallery itself is circular, continuously displaying the exceptional work of the artist while teaching children and adults to apply an understanding of the events of the Holocaust and other genocides to their own lives and respond to them successfully by developing social resiliency.
The Boniuk Library
The expansion of The Boniuk Library, with more than 10,000 volumes and numerous resources for in-house research and education, allows for enhanced public access to its 285 oral testimonies for research purposes and genealogical searches. The Boniuk Library is one of the largest sources of data in the U.S. for communities destroyed during the Holocaust.
In June 2019, Holocaust Museum Houston underwent a $34 million expansion of its original building in the Houston Museum District. By more than doubling in size to a total of 57,000 square feet (5,300 m2), the new facility ranks as the nation's fourth-largest Holocaust museum and is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. [2] The new three-story structure houses a welcome center, four permanent galleries and two changing exhibition galleries, classrooms, a research library, a café, a 200-seat indoor theater, and a 175-seat outdoor amphitheater. [3] The exhibits now discuss the overall history surrounding the Holocaust, as well as other genocides. [2] Some items were moved to protect them during construction, [4] including the rescue boat "Hanne Frank" and a railcar. [5]
In 1994, HMH introduced the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award in memory of the 36th president of the United States. Recipients of this award are individuals who, like Johnson, exhibit moral courage, individual responsibility, and the willingness to take action against injustice. The 2009 award honored U.S. Sen. John McCain for his heroism in the face of extreme adversity during the Vietnam War.
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the survivors; honoring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and gentiles who selflessly aided Jews in need; and researching the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, with the aim of avoiding such events in the future. Yad Vashem's vision, as stated on its website, is: "To lead the documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust, and to convey the chronicles of this singular Jewish and human event to every person in Israel, to the Jewish people, and to every significant and relevant audience worldwide."
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history. It is dedicated to helping leaders and citizens of the world confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage, located in Battery Park City in Manhattan, New York City, is a living memorial to those murdered in the Holocaust. The museum has received more than 2 million visitors since opening in 1997. The mission statement of the museum is "to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the broad tapestry of Jewish life in the 20th and 21st centuries—before, during, and after the Holocaust."
The Museum of Tolerance (MOT), also known as Beit HaShoah, is a multimedia museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, designed to examine racism and prejudice around the world with a strong focus on the history of the Holocaust. The museum was established in 1993, as the educational arm of human rights organization, the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The museum also deals with atrocities in Cambodia and Latin America, along with issues like bullying and hate crimes. The museum has an associated museum and professional development multi-media training facility in New York City.
The Austrian Service Abroad is a non-profit organization funded by the Austrian government which sends young Austrians to work in partner institutions worldwide serving Holocaust commemoration in form of the Gedenkdienst, supporting vulnerable social groups and sustainability initiatives in form of the Austrian Social Service and realizing projects of peace within the framework of the Austrian Peace Service. The Austrian Service Abroad is the issuer of the annually conferred Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award.
The Virginia Holocaust Museum (VHM) is a public history museum located in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The museum is dedicated to depicting the Holocaust through the personal stories of its victims.
The Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, near Detroit, is Michigan's largest Holocaust museum.
The Montreal Holocaust Museum is a museum located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is dedicated to educating people of all ages and backgrounds about the Holocaust, while sensitizing the public to the universal perils of antisemitism, racism, hate and indifference. Through the museum, its commemorative programs and educational initiatives, it aims to promote respect for diversity and the sanctity of human life. The Museum was founded in 1979 as the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre and is Canada's first and only recognized Holocaust museum.
The Florida Holocaust Museum is a Holocaust museum located at 55 Fifth Street South in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1992, it moved to its current location in 1998. Formerly known as the Holocaust Center, the museum officially changed to its current name in 1999. It is one of the largest Holocaust museums in the United States. It was founded by Walter and Edith Lobenberg both of whom were German Jews who escaped persecution in Nazi Germany by immigrating to the United States. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel served as Honorary Chairman and cut the ribbon at the 1998 opening ceremony. The Florida Holocaust Museum is one of three Holocaust Museums that are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The museum works with the local community and survivors of the Holocaust to spread awareness and to educate the public on the history of the Holocaust.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, is an international memorial day on 27 January that commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945, an attempt to implement its "final solution" to the Jewish question. 27 January was chosen to commemorate the date when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945.
The Kigali Genocide Memorial commemorates the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The remains of over 250,000 people are interred there.
Holocaust Museum LA, formerly known as Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, is a museum located in Pan Pacific Park within the Fairfax district of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1961 by Holocaust survivors, Holocaust Museum LA is the oldest museum of its kind in the United States. Its mission is to commemorate those murdered in the Holocaust, honor those who survived, educate about the Holocaust, and inspire a more dignified and humane world.
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is a history education museum in Dallas, Texas, in the West End Historic District at the southeast corner of N. Houston Street and Ross Avenue. Its mission is to teach the history of the Holocaust and advance human rights to combat prejudice, hatred, and indifference. It features climate-controlled archives and a research library to expand education.
United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 on Holocaust remembrance called for the establishment of a programme of outreach on the subject of the "Holocaust and the United Nations" and measures to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance and education, in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide. Since its establishment by the Department of Public Information in January 2006, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has developed an international network of civil society groups and a multi-faceted programme that includes: innovative online educational products, youth outreach, DVDs, seminars and training programmes, a film series, book signings, a permanent exhibit at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, and the annual worldwide observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is a museum located in Skokie, Illinois, near Chicago. According to the Center's mission statement, its founding principle is to "Remember the Past; Transform the Future." Its mission is to preserve the legacy of the Holocaust by honoring victims' memories and to educate in the service of combating hatred, prejudice, and indifference. The Museum fulfills its mission through its collections-based exhibitions and through education programs and other initiatives that promote human rights and the elimination of genocide.
USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education, formerly Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust a compelling voice for education and action. It was established by Steven Spielberg in 1994, one year after completing his Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List. In January 2006, the foundation partnered with and relocated to the University of Southern California (USC) and was renamed the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education. In March 2019, the institute opened their new global headquarters on USC's campus.
The Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre began as Africa's first Holocaust centre founded in 1999. It has sister Centres in Johannesburg and Durban, and together they form part of the association, the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation (SAHGF). The SAHGF determines the educational and philosophical direction of the centre. It also conducts teacher training and is the only accredited service-provider for in-service training in Holocaust education in the country. It has trained over 5,000 teachers.
Naomi Kramer is a Canadian curator and president of the Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation.
Dimensions in Testimony is a collection of 3D interactive genocide survivor testimonies, produced by USC Shoah Foundation in order to preserve the conversational experience of asking survivors questions about their life and hearing responses in real time, therefore preserving history through first-person narrative.
The Auschwitz Jewish Center is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to preserve the memory of the Jewish community of the city of Oświęcim and educate about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and other prejudices and intolerance.