A Multimedia Museum Experience for International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus shares untold stories of the genocide
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Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus
Exterior of the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus // Photograph by Jerry Zolynsky

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is on Jan. 27, and to honor the 17 million lives that were taken in the genocide, the听听in Farmington Hills has an educational agenda planned for the day. Docent-led tours, a Holocaust survivor presentation, and a screening of听WhoWill Write Our History, a documentary set in November 1940, days after the Nazis imprisoned 450,000 Jews inside the Warsaw Ghetto, gives visitors insight into the political climate and religious oppression that led to Adolf Hitler鈥檚 ascension to power, as Chancellor, F眉hrer, and Dictator of Germany. 鈥淭he most important lesson we teach is that history is made through a series of choices and that every choice has a consequence,鈥 says Holocaust Memorial Center CEO Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld. 鈥淐hoices by individuals have power.鈥

A movie poster for Who Will Write Our History

A MOVIE POSTER FOR WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY

The multimedia experience begins with a personal account听from a living Holocaust survivor. Paula Marks-Bolton, who hails from Ozarkow, Poland, will share her childhood memories of the Nazi invasion for 45 minutes. 鈥淗earing the testimony of a survivor provides a special kind of understanding of the Holocaust,鈥 said Mayerfeld. Following is a one-hour docent led tour of the museum鈥檚 20,000 square-foot core exhibit, which features authentic artifacts including a WWII-era boxcar, photos, video testimonies, films, paintings, and sculptures. On the grounds of the memorial center is a tree descendent of the horse-chestnut that stood outside Anne Frank鈥檚 hiding place window, a sapling she described in her diary. The tour is at no cost with museum admission or membership, and is advised for children ages 12 and older.

Lastly, patrons will have the opportunity to view听Who Will Write Our History, which splices works from the Oyneg Shabes archive 鈥 a collection of writings that detail what Warsaw ghetto life was like 鈥 with corresponding rarely seen footage and interviews of those who resisted the Nazis. Produced and directed by Roberta Grossman and executive produced by Nancy Spielberg, the film features the voices of three-time Academy Award 听nominee Joan Allen and Academy Award winner Adrien Brody. 鈥淲e are proud to be part of the global screening of听Who Will Write Our History, a new documentary about courageous resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto who used the power of pen and paper to tell their harrowing story,鈥 Mayerfeld says.

Who are you honoring on International Holocaust Remembrance Day?