4 minute read
At the Museum
Susan Suarez President & CEO
The next time you come to the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center you will notice a change out front! The shopping center parking lot has been totally repaved and will soon be newly landscaped. New speed bumps have been installed, which will hopefully deter the cars that frequently speed past our front doors and through the stop sign outside.
Free admission for Southwest Florida teachers
Southwest Florida teachers of all grades receive free admission during the month of July! Simply show your Southwest Florida Teacher ID when you enter. While here, please ask about the many free resources we offer to assist you in meeting the Florida Standards in regard to teaching about the Holocaust. Classroom programs, field trips and traveling exhibits are being scheduled for the 2024-2025 school year.
Nordhausen flag presentation
On July 1, 2024, the museum received a very special artifact at a ceremony attended by many local officials. Representatives of the Victor Paul Tuchman Post 400 JWV and American Legion Post 38 Rabe O. Wilkinson Chapter presented the Nordhausen survivor flag as a permanent loan to the museum.
The flag, a handmade replica of the U.S. flag, was created by the prisoners at the Nordhausen camp who presented it in gratitude to the American GIs who liberated them on April 11, 1945. Created out of material scraps found at the camp, a unique feature of the flag are the 48 sixpointed stars, shaped like the stars Jewish people were forced to wear by the Nazis. It was brought to the U.S. after the war by 1st Lt. John Spain, Sr., a member of the 750th Tank Battalion’s Company B which took part in Nordhausen’s liberation. He donated it to Post 38 in the mid-1990s.
Post 38 sustained water damage during Hurricane Ian. When assessing the damage, Post 400 Commander Harvey Charter and Post 38 Commander Kevin Brody noticed that the fragile Nordhausen flag had water damage as well. Charter contacted Museum Curator Cody Rademacher for his expert advice. He recommended a professional fabric conservator who initiated a treatment program and had the flag properly reframed.
Aware of the continuing risks with the Florida climate, Post 38 decided to permanently loan the flag to the museum. Our newer, larger building offers the Nordhausen flag more protection during storms and is displayed in a monitored, climate-controlled environment with other Holocaust-era artifacts and exhibits.
We are grateful for this loan and the honor of looking after the Nordhausen flag — a very special reminder of World War II and the end of the Holocaust. Thanks to the generosity of Post 38 and Post 400 in sharing the flag; its unique story and message will be shared with future generations along with many more members of the public, never to be forgotten.
New exhibit starts July 7
“Witness to the Memory of Oradour –The Photography of Martin Graf” will premiere at our museum in July. Graf’s haunting black and white photographs honor the memory of the victims of a devastating Nazi reprisal against the small town of Oradour in Central France. On June 10, 1944, SS troops rounded up Oradour’s residents — men, women and children —believing that area partisans captured a high-ranking Nazi officer. The town was destroyed and 642 people were murdered. Only six people survived.
The trauma was so great that the original village was never reoccupied and was left to stand in ruins. A new town of Oradour was created nearby, however. When exploring the area years later, Graf met the last survivor and learned Oradour’s story. The trauma continued during the postwar years; for decades, color paints weren’t allowed on the new Oradour buildings, and celebrations in June were not permitted. “Witness to the Memory of Oradour – The Photography of Martin Graf” will be on display through early December. We hope to schedule a program with Martin Graf at the museum in the fall.
Visit us this summer
We invite you to visit this summer. Our self-guided audio tours are complimentary with each admission. For a special activity, consider signing up for a docent-led tour – available on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays by reservation. A private group tour with a variety of program options is also available by reservation.
More information to come on the exciting lineup of programs this coming year. And please “Save the Date” for The Luncheon on Dec. 4 at the Vineyards Country Club.
Wishing you and your families a wonderful summer and a visit to the museum soon!
