The Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City revealed on Tuesday its new main exhibition about Holocaust history that will feature over 700 artifacts from the museum’s collection, many donated from survivors and their families, and numerous others on view for the first time.
The 12,000-square-foot exhibition The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do will showcase original Holocaust-era objects and survivor testimonies including artifacts from Ukraine — exploring the history of Ukrainian Jews as the country faces Russia’s ongoing war. The exhibit will also highlight stories about Jewish life before, during and after the Holocaust.
Each room, and each object, contains generations of experiences and information about who Jews are, what sustains Jewish communities, and what life was like during the period of European modernization, World War I, and the political and social movements that brought about the rise of the Nazi Party,” the museum said in an announcement. “Within the Holocaust experiences of legalized racism and fascism, pogroms, ghettos, mass murder, and concentration camps are instances of personal and global decision-making, escape, resistance, and resilience, and ultimately liberation and new beginnings.”
The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do will be the museum’s first exhibit to open in its core galleries since “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away,” which closed last spring.
“The title of our new exhibition speaks to our institution’s very reason for being,” said Museum of Jewish Heritage President and CEO Jack Kliger. “Antisemitism and fascism are again on the rise throughout the world. Right here in New York, we have witnessed not only a surge in antisemitism but an uptick in violence and harassment targeting many marginalized groups.”
“The time to speak out and act is upon us, and it is urgent,” he said.
The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do will open for previews on June 30.