Shanah Tovah, Happy New Year!

Susan Suarez, President & CEO

We hope you will join us the month of October for amazing programs we have lined up!

“Movies That Matter (MTM) – The Steve Brazina Memorial Film Series” kicks off on Wednesday, Oct. 19 with a 4 p.m. Zoom expert panel discussion on the documentary, “The Best of Enemies.” This film is based on the true story of two unlikely allies cochairing a 1971 Durham, N.C. community meeting on school desegregation. The panel will feature Vincent Keeys, Collier County NAACP president; Kathy Schillreff, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Marco Island, member Southwest Florida Diocese Race and Reconciliation Committee; and Brian Lipton, regional director, West Coast Florida, American Jewish Committee. Please pre-watch the film on your own before the Zoom discussion. “The Best of Enemies” is available on Amazon and many other streaming platforms. Zoom tickets are $5, and the link will be sent 24 hours before the program begins. Visit www.hmcec.org and click on “Event Tickets” in the upper right corner to sign up.

MTM series sponsorships are available. Visit hmcec.org for more information. Series sponsors as of Aug. 31 include Sustainer sponsor Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP; Supporter sponsors FineMark National Bank & Trust, Habitat for Humanity of Collier County; and Patron sponsors Ida and Jeff Margolis.

The Museum is excited to partner with The Baker Museum of Artis—Naples on its new exhibit, Envisioning Evil: “The Nazi Drawings” by Mauricio Lasansky. The exhibit is on display through Feb. 19, 2023, and two special lectures at Artis—Naples are planned. For more information on the exhibit and lectures, visit www.artisnaples.org.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, the Museum and WGCU Public Media will cohost an event about “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” the new documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein. Join us at Hilton Naples from 5:30 to 8 p.m. for an overview of the six-hour film and a special private Zoom discussion with filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. They will discuss the inspiration for and creation of their latest film. Sponsorships are available for this unique event. Tickets are $50 and must be purchased in advance. Light refreshments will be provided, and seating is limited, so don’t delay – get your tickets now. Proceeds benefit the Museum and WGCU Public Media. More information is available at www.hmcec.org.

Ken Burns

Importance of Holocaust education programs

With the school year underway, we have scheduled student education programs at schools across Southwest Florida. Sadly, our region has not been spared regarding the rise in antisemitic incidents. Hateful flyers have been circulated in neighborhoods and ugly signs have been waved at public gatherings. We provide teachers with many free resources to help them teach the lessons of the Holocaust — field trips at the Museum and in-classroom lessons, the traveling Boxcar exhibit, PopUp Museum displays at schools and Holocaust survivor talks. We work with thousands of students and teachers each year to be sure that children learn to turn away from these hateful messages and focus on promoting mutual respect and peace.

Holocaust survivor Heinz Wartski often tells local students that “nothing good comes of hate.” Students are riveted as Heinz shares his story of how he and his family fled the Nazis, hid, joined up with partisans in Italy, were imprisoned and eventually liberated, then moved to the United States. He explains that hatred is dangerous, and it is up to them, the next generation, to be aware of this, strive to be Upstanders and speak against bigotry, hatred and violence.

Our community partnerships with public libraries, schools and universities, Gulfshore Playhouse, the Baker Museum, the Seminole Tribe, The NAACP, Southwest Florida synagogues and churches, and more, help us reach thousands of students, teachers and others each year. These partnerships amplify the important message of our mission — teach the lessons of the Holocaust to inspire action against bigotry, hatred and violence. Each of us has the capability of being an Upstander.

November and December

Our full slate of programming continues as 2022 ends. Two more Movies That Matter film/expert panel discussions will take place on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9 at Paragon Theaters – Pavilion in Naples.

The annual Community Commemoration of Kristallnacht is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6 and our annual winter fundraising event, The Luncheon, is Dec. 7. This year’s luncheon program features an appearance by author/actor Tom Dugan, performing excerpts of his oneman play, Wiesenthal. Learn about some of the unsung heroes of the Holocaust in Education Specialist David Nelson’s lecture series.

Finally, the coming expansion of our facility will accommodate more exhibits, programs and students. Work should be complete next year, and we can’t wait for you to see it!

Your involvement and generosity make this work and these partnerships possible. Thank you.