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About AJCFBefore Auschwitz became the ultimate symbol of the Holocaust, it was just an ordinary Polish town known as Oswiecim. The majority of its citizens were Jewish. Generations of merchants, rabbis, doctors and lawyers raised families there and contributed to a richly textured Jewish culture. In September of 2000, the Auschwitz Jewish Center opened its doors to honor the former residents of the town and to teach future generations about what was lost. It is the only remaining Jewish presence in the town.
The Auschwitz Jewish Center The Auschwitz Jewish Center is located less than two miles from Auschwitz - Birkenau. It is the mission, in the shadow of the camps, to juxtapose the enormity of the destruction of human life with the vibrant lives of the Jewish people who once lived in the adjacent town and throughout Poland. The mission is also to provide all visitors with an opportunity to memorialize victims of the Holocaust through the study of the life and culture of a formerly Jewish town and to operate educational programs that allow future generations to explore the meaning and contemporary implications of the Holocaust. The Auschwitz Jewish Center is a place of understanding, education, memory, and prayer for all people.
The facilities include the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue, the only remaining synagogue in the once predominantly Jewish town, and the Kornreich House, which houses an exhibition on pre-War Jewish life that introduces visitors to the history, education, and commercial life of Jewish Oswiecim, as well as venues for meetings and educational programs.
This is an especially exciting time for the Center. The Auschwitz Jewish Center and the Museum of Jewish Heritage recently united; both organizations share a commitment to commemoration and education, not only about the tragedy of the Holocaust, but about the rich culture of the Jewish people. Much like the Center, the Museum has always based its exhibition and education philosophy on the power of personal artifacts and testimony to communicate. The addition of AJC to the Museum broadens the reach and expands the capacity of both institutions. In fact, is hard to imagine two institutions with missions that are more complementary. For information about the Center, please visit our website at www.ajcf.org or to arrange a visit, contact the Center’s offices in Oswiecim at info@ajcf.org, or call Anna Thomas at the Museum at 646.437.4276.
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Copyright 2009, Museum of Jewish Heritage. All rights reserved. |
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