Holocaust Museum Houston
Encyclopedia
The Holocaust Museum Houston, is located in Houston, Texas
and was opened in 1996. The museum is located in the Houston Museum District.
The museum is the fourth largest Holocaust memorial museum in the United States
. The museum's mission is to make people aware of the dangers which prejudice, hatred and violence brought about during the Holocaust. It also endeavors to remind us that these dangers are still relevant today. The museum promotes understanding, remembrance and education with the goal that both students and the general population stay and become aware of the lesson of these tragic events. This lesson is that humankind must strive to live together in peace and harmony.
A major commitment of the Holocaust Museum Houston is the educational program. This program comprises a teacher program, a student program and an academic program. The teacher program encourages and helps teachers to incorporate the topic "Holocaust" into their classes. The museum’s "Curriculum Trunks Program," which is available for teachers throughout the country, gives teachers of all grades multi-media tools such as videos, posters, CDs, CD-ROMS, artifact kits, maps, classroom sets of books, lessons plans and plans for student activities so that classes are as informative as possible. Teachers may also receive in training on the Holocaust. Training may be related to the curriculum trunks or they may be general workshops. Furthermore, the museum offers contests for students, such as the annual “Yom HaShoah Art and Writing Contest,” as part of their student program.
, World War II
and other similar topics. The library also includes the HMH Archives and the HMH Oral Histories Project. There is a vast number of artifacts, documents, photographs, and film reels in the archives and there are more than 250 recorded testimonies from Holocaust survivors, witnesses, liberators and a member of the Hitler Youth
.
There are permanent as well as temporary exhibitions at the Holocaust Museum Houston. An important part of the permanent exhibition, which is called "Bearing Witness: A community remembers," is the testimony of Houston-area survivors. At the beginning of the exhibition the visitor is given an impression of Jewish life and culture in pre-War Europe
. Authentic film footage, artifacts, photographs and documents show Nazi
propaganda
and the move toward the "Final Solution
." Another section in this main exhibit is about resistance efforts, such as the Warsaw Ghetto
uprising, prisoner revolts, sabotage, the partisan movement, and Lyndon B. Johnson
’s "Operation Texas
" refugee effort. At the end of this exhibition, the visitor watches two films of testimony. These films give first-hand accounts of survivors, liberators and witnesses who moved to the Houston area after the war.
In addition to the permanent exhibition there is the Education Center, the Morgan Family Center, the Lack Family Memorial Room and the Eric Alexander Garden of Hope. The Education Center houses the museum’s library. The Morgan Family center includes the administrative offices, two other exhibit galleries for changing exhibitions, the HMH classrooms, and the theater. The Lack Family Memorial Room is a quiet place for relaxation and meditation and the Eric Alexander Garden of Hope is dedicated to the one and a half million children who were killed in the Holocaust.
The Holocaust Museum Houston offers several opportunities for volunteers. Volunteers may work as docents or assist in the library, in the administrative offices, at the reception desk and in the bookstore. Multilingual volunteers like Austrian Holocaust Memorial Servants
may also work with original source materials and translate informational and marketing materials.
for his heroism in the face of extreme adversity during the Vietnam War.
regularly Austrian Holocaust Memorial Servants
to the Holocaust Museum Houston.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and was opened in 1996. The museum is located in the Houston Museum District.
The museum is the fourth largest Holocaust memorial museum in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The museum's mission is to make people aware of the dangers which prejudice, hatred and violence brought about during the Holocaust. It also endeavors to remind us that these dangers are still relevant today. The museum promotes understanding, remembrance and education with the goal that both students and the general population stay and become aware of the lesson of these tragic events. This lesson is that humankind must strive to live together in peace and harmony.
A major commitment of the Holocaust Museum Houston is the educational program. This program comprises a teacher program, a student program and an academic program. The teacher program encourages and helps teachers to incorporate the topic "Holocaust" into their classes. The museum’s "Curriculum Trunks Program," which is available for teachers throughout the country, gives teachers of all grades multi-media tools such as videos, posters, CDs, CD-ROMS, artifact kits, maps, classroom sets of books, lessons plans and plans for student activities so that classes are as informative as possible. Teachers may also receive in training on the Holocaust. Training may be related to the curriculum trunks or they may be general workshops. Furthermore, the museum offers contests for students, such as the annual “Yom HaShoah Art and Writing Contest,” as part of their student program.
Facilities
Members of the Holocaust Museum Houston have access to the Boniuk Library. This lending library has more than 5,000 volumes on the Holocaust, the post-Holocaust era, Jewish historyJewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and other similar topics. The library also includes the HMH Archives and the HMH Oral Histories Project. There is a vast number of artifacts, documents, photographs, and film reels in the archives and there are more than 250 recorded testimonies from Holocaust survivors, witnesses, liberators and a member of the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
.
There are permanent as well as temporary exhibitions at the Holocaust Museum Houston. An important part of the permanent exhibition, which is called "Bearing Witness: A community remembers," is the testimony of Houston-area survivors. At the beginning of the exhibition the visitor is given an impression of Jewish life and culture in pre-War Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Authentic film footage, artifacts, photographs and documents show Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and the move toward the "Final Solution
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
." Another section in this main exhibit is about resistance efforts, such as the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
uprising, prisoner revolts, sabotage, the partisan movement, and Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
’s "Operation Texas
Operation Texas
Operation Texas was an undercover operation to relocate European Jews to Texas, USA, away from Nazi persecution.In 1938, Lyndon Baines Johnson , then a Congressman and later the 36th President of the United States of America, worked covertly to establish a refuge in Texas for European Jews fleeing...
" refugee effort. At the end of this exhibition, the visitor watches two films of testimony. These films give first-hand accounts of survivors, liberators and witnesses who moved to the Houston area after the war.
In addition to the permanent exhibition there is the Education Center, the Morgan Family Center, the Lack Family Memorial Room and the Eric Alexander Garden of Hope. The Education Center houses the museum’s library. The Morgan Family center includes the administrative offices, two other exhibit galleries for changing exhibitions, the HMH classrooms, and the theater. The Lack Family Memorial Room is a quiet place for relaxation and meditation and the Eric Alexander Garden of Hope is dedicated to the one and a half million children who were killed in the Holocaust.
The Holocaust Museum Houston offers several opportunities for volunteers. Volunteers may work as docents or assist in the library, in the administrative offices, at the reception desk and in the bookstore. Multilingual volunteers like Austrian Holocaust Memorial Servants
Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service is an alternative to Austria's compulsory national military service / alternative service founded in 1992. Since 1998 it is part of the Austrian Service Abroad...
may also work with original source materials and translate informational and marketing materials.
Moral Courage Award
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 McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
for his heroism in the face of extreme adversity during the Vietnam War.
Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
Since 1999 sends the Austrian Service AbroadAustrian Service Abroad
Austrian Service Abroad is a non-profit initiative and was founded in 1998 by Andreas Maislinger and Andreas Hörtnagl. Since 2001 Michael Prochazka is part of the managing committee.-General Information:...
regularly Austrian Holocaust Memorial Servants
Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service is an alternative to Austria's compulsory national military service / alternative service founded in 1992. Since 1998 it is part of the Austrian Service Abroad...
to the Holocaust Museum Houston.