At the Museum

Susan Suarez, President & CEO

I often think of how fortunate we are to live in Southwest Florida. We have wonderful communities with great schools and universities for our children, and amazing, unique cultural and charitable organizations that enrich our lives and help neighbors in need.

We have daily unlimited access to wonderful natural resources that other people travel from across the nation and the world to visit for just a short time.

When challenges face Southwest Florida, we are resilient. We pull together and help each other, as evidenced by our actions during the pandemic and recent hurricanes.

We are truly lucky because we know that, despite our different circumstances, we can count on each other.

Yet, we don't live in a protective "bubble." Unfortunately, the crime, violence and hatred of the outside world intrudes here, too, always coexisting with all the good around us. The national increase in hate crimes and violence seen across the nation is now being reflected in Southwest Florida’s statistics.

For more than 20 years, our education programs have shared important lessons of the Holocaust with area schools and communities. We provide historical facts of the buildup to the genocide, along with riveting personal stories of those impacted, to illustrate a very powerful point. During that time, overt acts of hate and bigotry were allowed to grow, resulting in the unopposed vast deportation, imprisonment and murder of 6 million Jews and 6 million others … men, women and children.

Now is the time for us to act against increased incidents of bigotry and hate right here in our Southwest Florida community. Just as we stood together after the wrath of hurricanes, let us stand together against this rising tide of hate. We have more in common than what divides us. Let's reach across our differences and celebrate our common humanity. Let us not be silent bystanders while hatred spreads.

We must realize that no matter how we identify ourselves, we could all be considered as "other." Wouldn't you welcome and hope someone would step up and speak on your behalf if you were being targeted as "different?" Think about it. Should history repeat itself, you do not want to be in the same position as Pastor Martin Niemöller, as he noted in the last line of his famous Holocaust-era statement. He starts by mentioning all the groups he didn’t speak out for when they were targeted by the Nazis. The last line reads “Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

There are many local and national initiatives with helpful information on how we, as individuals and communities, can address this pressing issue. The Community Update recently issued by Jewish Federation of Greater Naples has a number of helpful links.

North Wing project in final stages

The buildout of the North Wing is complete! Our sincere thanks to our architect, David Corban, and the team at PBS Contractors. They began our project facing the toughest of conditions, just as Southwest Florida began to recover from Hurricane Ian. Despite storm-related labor shortages, scarcity of materials and major delivery delays, they completed the project on time.

Capitol Museum Services (CMS) is now installing important new exhibits and displays created for the expanded gallery spaces. It will be a seamless transition as you enter the North Wing, as CMS also created the interior of the current Museum in 2019. We hope to reopen to the public by approximately Aug. 9, 2023. Please check our website (www.hmcec.org) for updates. During this time, staff can be reached by email. For general questions, please contact us at info@hmcec.org.

We plan to hold a “Grand Reopening” series of events in early November 2023. We hope you’ll be able to join us. More information will be available soon.

A few naming opportunities are still available. Please contact me at Susan@ hmcec.org or call 239-263-9200, x203 for details.

Thank you for your support in 2022-2023

I sincerely thank you for your unwavering support of our Holocaust education mission this past year. Because of your generous financial assistance, and donation of your time and talents, our programs impacted thousands of people, inspiring each one to stand up against bigotry and hatred in our schools, communities and beyond. Your support has a tremendous impact and ripple effect, making our world a better place for all.

The Museum Board, staff and I look forward to working with you in the coming year. We can’t wait to show you our new North Wing! Have a great summer!