The Amud Aish Memorial Museum to Fill in a Missing Part of Holocaust History
As part of its rebranding and expanding, The Kleinman Holocaust Education Center (KHEC) founded by Elly Kleinman is changing its name to The Amud Aish Memorial Museum. The main purpose of this museum and educational centre is to continue the study of the Holocaust history and preserve the monuments of the Jewish culture. By acquiring different types of original materials from the Holocaust period such as photographs, documents, stories and artworks, the museum shows a new perspective of how people lived during and immediately after the Holocaust. Sharing the stories of those innocent and brutally murdered victims, who suffered so much and yet managed to maintain their faith, will hopefully fill in the missing part of Holocaust history.
Most museums are focused on the wrongdoer’s story, trying to interpret why the Holocaust happened in the first place, and seeking ways to ensure it will never happen again. Unlike all other, The Amud Aish Memorial Museum, which is first of its kind, pays special attention on the religious perspective of the Holocaust. The fact that the Jewish community was able to maintain hope in such difficult time should serve as a guiding light and inspiration to all people. The museum established by Elly Kleinman will officially open in Brooklyn in 2017.
Today, 71 years since the end of the Holocaust there is still no museum that represents the experiences of this religiously observant community. Leading this project and going into the community with educational programs, Elly Kleinman was approached by survivors and their families that were previously unwilling to donate to Holocaust museums, but now, members of the community were prepared to donate their valuable Holocaust-related documents and artifacts. Currently, the archive has hundreds of thousands of artifacts and documents, and as the organization along with its goals, missions and vision expands, it could no longer be called only as an education center. True growth can come only through education, and for that purpose the organization is planning to host public historical lectures, school group visits, annual Tisha B’Av known as the national day of mourning exhibitions, educational programs at summer camps and international exhibition.
Amud Aish Memorial Museum