As the calendar changed from December to January, the Virginia Holocaust Museum (VHM) looks to the new year with hope, optimism, and gratitude.
We are hopeful that construction will be soon complete for our new holographic theater featuring Holocaust Survivor Halina Zimm.
We are optimistic that this new interactive exhibit will be well received by the public and give both new and seasoned visitors an additional reason to visit the Museum.
We are grateful that after months of intensive renovations, visitors who now walk into the Museum look around and are blown away by what they see!
New Museum Shop & Bookstore
For all your shopping wants and needs, please check out our new Museum Shop & Bookstore. It is nothing short of spectacular! New merchandise is arriving daily. And in the very near future, the public will be able to shop online as well as in the physical store.
New Featured Exhibit
Our new featured exhibit, Memorial Without Witness, is open to the public.
In July 1987, Dr. Charles W. Sydnor, Jr., (Charlie!) VHM’s Senior Historian, had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz, where he experienced the former killing center as few tourists have. For several hours, he walked among the ruins of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp by himself. With only his camera and the ruins to keep him company and he took hundreds of black and white photos.
Memorial Without Witness features a curated collection of images, enlarged to wall-size panels so that visitors can see and feel what it is like to walk alone among the rubble and decay of the Nazi’s most notorious concentration camp.
Today, nearly two million people from all over the world visit the site. But on a warm afternoon in July of 1987, Charlie walked the sacred grounds alone, capturing Memorial Without Witness – and now you can be a witness too.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On January 24th, in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we are co-sponsoring a film with the Weinstein JCC Israeli Film Festival titled Irena’s Vow. It is a remarkable true story of Irena Gut Opdyke and the triumphs of the human spirit over tragedy. Please check the JCC website for more details and to register.
On January 27th, please join us at the Museum at 6 p.m. for the free screening of the film Letters from Brno, written and produced by Karen Kruger.
Letters from Brno tells the powerful, personal story of love and sacrifice during the Holocaust. In her 45-year search for clues to her mother’s past, Kruger uncovers the tragic fate of her grandparents through their letters written during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.
Join us for the film screening and Q&A afterward. This event is free, but registration is required.
So, please visit www.vaholocaust.org/events/letters-from-brno/ to register and reserve your spot.
Volunteer Docents Wanted
The VHM is accepting applications for new docents! We are looking for candidates with excellent communication skills, a comfort speaking in front of large groups, and a passion for education and history.
Docents lead multiple weekly tours of the museum’s exhibits for school groups, as well as various clubs, companies, police and military, and church groups. No prior experience is necessary to become a docent.
For more information, or to apply, interested parties should contact Matt Simpson, Director of Guest Services (msimpson@vaholocaust.org), or Katelynn Adams, Assistant Director of Guest Services (kadams@vaholocaust.org).
Memberships & Gift
Although Chanukah has passed, you still might have some people on your list that you are looking for the perfect gift for. Have you considered a VHM Gift Membership?
VHM Memberships help fund:
- Free admission for 40,000+ visitors a year
- Docent-led tours for 120 different public and private schools a year
- The maintenance and renovations of the Museum’s permanent exhibits and Memorial Gardens
- The preservation of over 4,800 Holocaust-related artifacts
- And So Much More!
And when you become a member, or give someone a gift membership, you become a part of the VHM family and ensure that our critical work will continue for generations.
Please visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/VHMMembership.
Until Next Time,
Samuel H. Asher
