The Holocaust Museum & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center

The Holocaust Museum & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center’s mission is “to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to inspire action against hatred and to promote mutual respect.”

Since its founding in 2001, hundreds of thousands of people from across Southwest Florida, the country, and the world have been impacted by the museum’s education programs, film and discussion series, special exhibits and events.

The Museum provides age-appropriate Holocaust education programming to students in five Southwest Florida counties, with a concentration on middle and high school grades. In addition to on-campus educator visits, other Holocaust education program options include student field trips to the Museum, online programs, the traveling authentic Boxcar exhibit and customizable Pop-up Museum displays for schools and organizations.

Through a generous legacy gift of the Merrill Kuller Educator Series, the Museum offers teacher workshops, providing Southwest Florida educators the information necessary to meet the state mandate on Holocaust education, as well as free classroom activity materials for their students. The Museum also partners with GenShoah SWFL for programming for Holocaust survivors and their descendants.

Recent Expansion

The Museum recently completed an extensive expansion and renovation project. Two adjoining office suites were purchased and combined to create a new North Wing, providing an additional 3,600 square feet to the existing Museum space. A major renovation of the existing Museum included the installation of new exhibits, artifacts and interactive displays.

New galleries in the North Wing include the Auschwitz Gallery, the Estelle and Stuart Price Gallery for special exhibits, the Shelley and Steven Einhorn Genocide Gallery, and the Herbert H. Schiff Classroom.

The Auschwitz Gallery details the horrors of what happened to people once their boxcar arrived at the camp. The Price Gallery creates the opportunity to host larger special traveling exhibits from other museums as well as larger exhibits created in-house with items from the Museum’s archives. The Einhorn Genocide Gallery is dedicated to the overview of human rights issues Student field trips, private group tours and Schiff Classroom access are scheduled by appointment. For more information, please contact Education Specialist David Nelson at David@ hmcec.org.

Student field trips, private group tours and Schiff Classroom access are scheduled by appointment. For more information, please contact Education Specialist David Nelson at David@ hmcec.org.

Upcoming Exhibits

On display in the new Estelle and Stuart Price Gallery January through June 2025 is “Propaganda Home and Abroad.” New museum exhibits will include information about the SS, Theresienstadt, as well as “UpStander” profiles featuring an interactive iPad with data on antisemitism from the Anti-Defamation League.

Special Programs and Events

Reservations are required for programs. Please visit www.hmcec.org for details and to RSVP.

• Jan. 27, 1-4 p.m. (last guests admitted at 3 p.m.) – International Holocaust Remembrance Day with complimentary Museum admission and special film

• Feb. 5, 2-3 p.m. – Movies That Matter Zoom discussion of documentaries “Gather” and “Waterborne”

• Feb. 12, 2:30 p.m. – “Growing Up in Communist Hungary” presented by Holocaust survivor Judit Price

• March 4, 5:30-8 p.m. – Triumph 2025, annual fundraising event at the Arthrex Conference Center

• March 19, 2:30 p.m. – “The Holocaust in Salonika, the Jerusalem of the Balkans” presented by Sam Varsano

• March TBD – 2:30 p.m. – “Ravensbruck – We Who Lived There” presented by Richard Ohlsson

• April 27, 4 p.m. – Annual Community Yom HaShoah Commemoration at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center

• April TBD – 2:30 p.m. – Genocide Discussion Panel program in conjunction with Florida SouthWestern State College via Zoom and at FSW

Information for Your Visit

Location: 975 Imperial Golf Course Blvd., Suite 108, Naples

Admission: Prepurchase of timed entry admission tickets are available on www.hmcec.org; walkups accommodated if capacity permits. Closed on Mondays and major U.S. holidays. Visit the Museum website, www.hmcec.org, for hours of operation and other details.

Tour Programs

Tablets for self-guided audio tours and maps for self-guided walking tours are included with Museum admission. A free tour app is available for Android and iPhones. Public Docent-led tours are scheduled Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 12:15 p.m.; pre-registration and payment required. A 24-hour cancellation notice is required for refund. Visit www.hmcec.org to RSVP.

Student field trips and private group tours are available by appointment. For more information and scheduling availability, please contact Education Specialist David Nelson at David@ HMCEC.org.

For more information about the Museum and its programs, visit www. hmcec.org or call 239-263-9200.