Museum expansion news

Susan Suarez, President & CEO

We can’t wait to welcome you to our expanded and updated Museum! We will tentatively reopen Tuesday, Oct. 31 and have special reopening celebrations planned in November. Our website, hmcec.org, will have additional opening information as we get closer to October.

In addition to new galleries and classroom space in the new North Wing, you will also find new displays in the existing Museum. The “Resistance and Rescue” displays will highlight upstanders who demonstrated the strength and power of moral courage in many different situations during the Holocaust. Among the areas covered are the Kindertransport, Hidden Children, the Warsaw Underground (Zegota), the Reigner Telegram, Oskar Schindler, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Danish Rescue, the Auschwitz Revolt, and more.

As you reflect on the brave acts of the people in these stories, we hope you, too, will be inspired to stand up for those who are unjustly bullied or persecuted because of who they are, not what they do.

New Holocaust education programs

Now that school is in session, we invite Southwest Florida teachers to contact our education department to schedule their 2023-2024 student field trips and at-school Museum educator visits.

We’re introducing several new student activities for fifth grade through high school, available at the Museum and for in-school classes. Reservations are also being accepted for the traveling Boxcar exhibit and popup Museum displays.

Please note these exhibits are also available to community organizations. Contact Education Specialist David Nelson, David@hmcec.org, for more information.

Our Holocaust education programs are available to teachers and students at public, private, charter, home school and alternative school learning environments in five Southwest Florida counties. If you know of a teacher interested in learning more about the Museum and its programs, please ask them to contact Education Specialist David Nelson at David@hmcec.org.

Museum public programming

We have many interesting programs and events scheduled for the 2023-2024 season and we hope to see you there! Please grab your calendars and save the following dates.

2023-2024 Museum fundraising events

• Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023: The Luncheon with special program “Letters from Anne and Martin,”11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at The Vineyards Country Club; RSVP required; tickets $150; sponsorship packages available.

• Wednesday, March 6, 2024: Triumph 2024 Annual Fundraising Evening; 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Arthrex Conference Center; RSVP required; tickets $350; sponsorship packages available.

Movies That Matter Series

Three documentaries on important social topics will be discussed with expert panels and Q/A:

• Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. on Zoom – “Poor Kids” (about child poverty in America)

• Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 4 p.m. on Zoom – “Repairing the World” (about combatting antisemitism)

• Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. on Zoom – “The Invisible Class” (about homelessness) Sponsorships are available. Registration is required at hmcec.org.

Exhibits in the new Estelle and Stuart Price Gallery

October-December 2023: “Forgeries and the Holocaust”

January-March 2024: “Stitching History from the Holocaust”

April-October 2024: “Lawyers Without Rights: The Fate of Jewish Lawyers in Berlin After 1933”

Lectures and programs in the new Herbert H. Schiff classroom

• Saturday, Nov. 4: Family Day –reopening celebration with activities for kids of all ages, 1-3 p.m.

• Saturday, Nov. 11: Special Veterans Day Museum reopening program, 1-3 p.m.; complimentary admission; film program; RSVP required

• Wednesday, Jan. 17: “The Rescue in the Philippines,” 2-4 p.m., film/Q&A with the filmmakers; ticketed event; RSVP required

• Friday, Jan. 26: International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 1-3 p.m.; complimentary admission; film program; RSVP required

• Wednesday, Feb. 7, 14 & 21: Ellaine Rosen Lecture Series “Witness to Goodness;” 2-4 p.m.; ticketed events; free of charge/donations appreciated; RSVP required

• Thursday, Feb. 15: Jack Nortman and The Boxcar Film and Survivor Talk, 3 p.m.; ticketed event; RSVP required

• Wednesday, March 20: Stuart Mest, M.D. Lecture “The Holocaust: Medically Driven Genocide,” 2-4 p.m.; ticketed event; RSVP required

• Wednesday, May 8: VE Day Commemoration, 1-3 p.m.; complimentary admission; film program; RSVP required

Community commemoration events

• Sunday, Nov. 5: Annual Community Kristallnacht Commemoration; 2:30-4:30 p.m.; St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, Naples. Open to the public and free to attend.

• Sunday, May 5: Annual Community Yom HaShoah Commemoration; 4-5 p.m., Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, 4720 Pine Ridge Road, Naples. Open to the public and free to attend.

New private group tour options

If you are looking for a memorable experience for your community, organization, friends and family members, schedule a private group tour of our new, expanded Museum! Four new tour options will be available this year. Private group tours are offered when the Museum is closed to the public and can be customized for your group's interest and time schedule. For questions and to schedule a private group tour, please contact Education Specialist David Nelson at David@hmcec.org or 239-263-9200, ext. 205.

Many thanks to all who support our important mission to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to inspire action against bigotry, hatred and violence. We look forward to sharing our new space and exhibits with you this coming season!