Holocaust Memorial Center

THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER, KNOWN AS THE ZEKELMAN HOLOCAUST CENTER (THE HC), EDUCATES ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST THROUGH EXHIBITS, LIBRARY, PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND TEACHER TRAINING.

DESPITE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE HC EDUCATED 21,000 PEOPLE IN 2021 ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST AND THE NEED TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION, HATE CRIMES AND GENOCIDE. THIS INCLUDES 8,000 STUDENTS WHO WERE EDUCATED THROUGH VIRTUAL MUSEUM EXPERIENCES AND 2,000 STUDENTS WHO VISITED THE HC WITH THEIR SCHOOLS AND WERE EDUCATED THROUGH GUIDED TOURS AND PRESENTATIONS BY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS OR CHILDREN OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. 11,000 OTHER VISITORS TOURED THE HC WITH THEIR FAMILIES OR MADE USE OF OUR LIBRARY ARCHIVE. THESE VISITORS CAME FROM THROUGHOUT THE STATE, AS WELL AS MANY FROM OHIO, INDIANA AND ONTARIO. THEY REFLECT THE DIVERSE RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION OF THIS REGION.

WE OPERATED OUR STATEWIDE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM, IN RESPONSE TO THE STATE MANDATE THAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROVIDE 6 HOURS OF HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE EDUCATION TO STUDENTS IN GRADES 8-12. WE PROVIDED TRAINING SEMINARS TO 807 TEACHERS FROM 138 MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS, REPRESENTING 72 SCHOOL DISTRICTS. WE EMPOWERED TEACHERS TO USE THE LESSONS OF THE HOLOCAUST TO HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE DANGERS OF UNCHECKED HATRED AND TO LEARN THAT THEIR INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS MATTER. THESE 807 EDUCATORS JOINED THE 1,382 TEACHERS WHO WE TRAINED SINCE 2018 IN TEACHING THESE LESSONS TO APPROXIMATELY 200,000 STUDENTS DURING THE 2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR. OUR EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES ALSO INCLUDED AN ART & WRITING COMPETITION FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, WHICH RECEIVED MORE THAN 320 ENTRIES.

WE PRESENTED A WIDE ARRAY OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS ON EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS FEATURING MOVIES, LECTURES, AUTHOR PRESENTATIONS, AND TALKS BY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. TOPICS COVERED IN OUR 2021 PROGRAM TOPICS INCLUDED A VIOLIN RECITAL OF WORKS BY JEWISH COMPOSERS WHOSE LIVES WERE IMPACTED BY WWII, THE WAYS IN WHICH GOVERNMENTS AND ORDINARY CITIZENS CAN HELP REDUCE THE RISK OF GENOCIDE, THE GHOST ARMY OF WWII, THE EXPERIENCE OF CHILDREN DURING SIEGE OF SARAJEVO, AND THE FILMS "WE SHALL NOT DIE," ABOUT THE TRAGEDY AND LESSONS OF THE HOLOCAUST AND "MY NAME IS SARA," AN INCREDIBLE STORY OF SURVIVAL. MOST PROGRAMS WERE VIRTUAL DUE TO COVID-19, REACHING 18,000 PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD, BUT SOME WERE IN-PERSON, REACHING ANOTHER 3,000 PEOPLE.

IN 2021, WE HOSTED TWO SPECIAL EXHIBITS. "DEADLY MEDICINE," ON LOAN FROM THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM, EXPLORED THE NAZI'S "SCIENCE OF RACE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR MODERN MEDICINE. "THE GIRL IN THE DIARY: SEARCHING FOR RYWKA FROM THE LODZ GHETTO," WAS CREATED BY THE GALICIA JEWISH MUSEUM IN KRAKOW, POLAND, IN COOPERATION WITH THE JEWISH HISTORICAL INSTITUTE IN WARSAW, POLAND. IT IS ABOUT A DIARY THAT WAS DISCOVERED IN AUSCHWITZ BY A SOVIET SOLDIER AFTER THE CAMP WAS LIBERATED. IT OFFERS A MOVING GLIMPSE INTO LIVES INTERRUPTED BY THE HOLOCAUST.