By Samuel Asher
Annual Meeting Recap
On Dec. 9, the 25th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Holocaust Museum was held with over 90 community members in attendance.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Alex Kor, the son of Holocaust Survivors Mickey and Eva Kor. Alex shared what it was like growing up as a Jew in Indiana, a state rife with both charm and prejudice.
He also shared highlights of the wisdom he gleamed from his parents that have shaped his life and fostered his personal mission to keep their legacy alive.
After the formal meeting, guests were invited into the Alan and Halina Zimm Theater of Remembrance to see Eva Kors’ interactive biography in the new Dimensions in Testimony exhibit. A highlight of the experience was watching Alex ask his mother questions about her life and experience during and after the holocaust.
January Spotlight:
Dimensions in Testimony
Throughout January, the Dimensions in Testimony exhibit, shown in the Alan and Halina Zimm Family Theater of Remembrance, will feature the interactive biography of U.S. concentration camp liberator Alan Moskin.
In 2021, at the age of 95, Moskin became the first American veteran and liberator to record his story for Dimensions in Testimony. We are honored to share his powerful story with our visitors.
Born in Englewood, N. J., Alan was drafted into the Army at age 18, and as member of the 66th Regiment, 71st Infantry Division, helped liberate the Gunskirchen concentration camp in May 1945.
After keeping his wartime experiences private for over 50 years, Alan began sharing his story in 1996 at the request of his local Holocaust Museum and he dedicated the rest of his life to Holocaust education and awareness until his passing in 2023 at the age of 96.
Admission Fees
As of Jan. 1, the museum will begin charging an admission fee of $10 for adult visitors who are not members of the museum. The museum will remain free of charge for children under the age of 18, members of the military/armed services, members of law enforcement and student groups and their chaperones. With rising costs, this change is essential to ensure the Museum’s sustainability.
If you’re not yet a museum member, now is the perfect time to join and enjoy exclusive benefits! Please visit our website for the latest information and membership options.
Upcoming Event:
Teacher Workshop
On Jan. 21, we are hosting a free professional development workshop for educators titled: “Teaching About Resistance During the Holocaust.”
Dr. Melissa Kravetz, Associate Professor of History and Co-Director of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Longwood University, will lead the session.
She will share the remarkable story of Ilse Seger, the wife of Gerhart Seger, a German politician who opposed the Nazis and was imprisoned shortly after Hitler rose to power.
Dr. Kravetz also teaches K–12 educators at the Alexander Lebenstein Teacher Education Institute every summer at VHM.
Visit our website for more details and to register.
JCC and VHM program for International Holocaust Remembrance Day
The Film: 999: The Forgotten Girls
Sunday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
Weinstein JCC
Co-presented by Virginia Holocaust Museum In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
About the film: In March 1942, nearly 1,000 young Slovak Jewish women, mostly teenagers, were told by their government that they were embarking on a volunteer work assignment, but were instead illegally deported to Auschwitz on what was the first Jewish transport to the Nazi death camp.
Rather than strictly focus on the suffering and death experienced by most of the girls, Macadam tells stories of a small group who survived against all odds, even under unimaginable conditions that lasted more than three grueling years.
A film of deep research and vivid detail, 999: The Forgotten Girls ensures that these women will no longer be a historical footnote.
For details and tickets, visit
Note: some images may be disturbing. Post-screening discussion with Heather Dune Macadam, director, author and historian. Her acclaimed book 999 was adapted into this powerful documentary that sheds light on a wrenching true story.
$12 JCC & VHM members.
