Hope: A powerful state of being

With a tumultuous year behind us and the growing availability of multiple COVID- 19 vaccines, the world has hope for a better year.

A recent webinar about “Hope Theory” noted that hope is more than just a feeling — it is a powerful state of being. If we can learn how to find and amplify hope in our lives, we have a focus that will help us through the darkest of times. Sometimes it takes great courage to be hopeful.

Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, in his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” talks about the terrible effects the loss of hope had on his fellow prisoners. Once they lost it, many died soon after. But during the horror of the Holocaust, he also saw examples of the extraordinary power having hope gave people.

Girl Power exhibit

You will find examples of this power in the exhibit currently on display in the Museum’s Estelle and Stuart Price Gallery. “Girl Power – How Women Impacted the Holocaust and Beyond” profiles a variety of women whose hope prompted them to take astoundingly brave actions on behalf of others. Their stories span the 20th and 21st centuries and include younger and older women from a wide variety of backgrounds.

The Girl Power exhibit is based on the theme for this year’s Education programming: “Heroes, Heroines and Helpers.” The personal stories of the Holocaust programs shared help students and the public remember the lessons of the Holocaust and inspire them to act against the bigotry, hatred and violence in our world today. The programs serve to ensure that memories of hope and action do not fade away.

Holocaust education

COVID-19 has delayed the return of visitors to Southwest Florida classrooms, so our education department has revised many of our key student programs for online use. This availability, along with active contact through phone calls and emails, enables us to continue assisting teachers, students and parents, meeting state-mandated requirements for teaching about the Holocaust. Our Teacher Workshops on the theme of “Genocide” are available monthly online and on our YouTube channel. They come complete with lesson plans and student activities. The workshops are sponsored by the Merrill Kuller Educator Series and the Florida Department of Education Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education.

“Hidden Children”

A very special Zoom program about parents’ hope for their children’s survival during the Holocaust will be presented on Feb. 24, 2021. “Hidden Children” will feature interviews with three Southwest Florida residents who were hidden during the Holocaust. Reneé Beddouk, Maud Dahme and Reneé Fritz will share their stories of the brave people who took them in and saved their lives. All of these women have graciously participated many times in the survivor presentation programs we offer to both student and public audiences. RSVPs are required to receive the Zoom link. There is no charge to attend. Visit our website at HMCEC.org for more information and to register.

In-person tours

In case you haven’t heard, the Museum is now offering three new in-person tours for small groups of 4 to 12 people. As with our small group Student Education Museum Field Trips, all safety protocols are followed, among them social distancing, use of masks by guests and staff, and sanitizing of commonly touched areas, such as door handles.

The new tours are the “Private Group Self-guided Tour,” which uses tablets, the “Morning Docent-led Tour” and the new “Perfectly Paradise Authentic Experience Tour,” created in conjunction with the Naples/Marco Island/Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau. Preregistration and a minimum of four attendees is required.

More information on rates and schedules is available on HMCEC.org under the “Visit” tab. Select the “Special Tour Programs” in the drop-down menu. Please visit our website for updates on other programs and to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

We know the next several months will be difficult, but hang on to your hope.

As the “Hope Theory” webinar noted, “When things are hard and hope is low, remember that hope is always present, and that hope is sparked by desire. As desire grows, so does hope. Allow that to be your tether to better times ahead.”

Thank you for your support of our mission and the programs that allow us to spread the message of hope for a better world to students and the public.