Cover Story Have you been to Cincinnati’s Holocaust museum?
Holocaust & Humanity Center finds innovative ways to carry out mission during pandemic
A
t historic Union Terminal, the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center is finding new and innovative ways to carry out its mission through in-person tours, a new virtual intelligence exhibit, and popular digital programs. In 2019, HHC relocated to historic Union Terminal, a prominent Cincinnati train station that houses several other museums. Because Union Terminal is the site where numerous Holocaust survivors arrived by train in Cincinnati to rebuild their lives, HHC is the only museum in the U.S. with an authentic connection to its space. “Our museum is so special because it examines the Holocaust through local connection to Cincinnati and the survivors who rebuilt their lives here,” says Sarah L. Weiss, chief executive officer of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center. Since the museum’s move nearly three years ago, hundreds of thousands of individuals have toured the award-winning museum, engaged with virtual tours and offerings, and attended hundreds
of digital and in-person events hosted for the public. Weiss says the museum will continue to carry out its mission in unique ways, including its newest exhibit Dimensions in Testimony, an initiative by USC Shoah Foundation to record and display testimony in a way that will preserve the dialogue between Holocaust survivors and learners far into the future. Using specialized recording and display technologies and next-generation natural language processing, Dimensions in Testimony allows visitors to ask two-dimensional displays of Holocaust survivors questions and receive responses in real time. Dimensions in Testimony is on exhibit in only eight other museums in the world. HHC is also carrying out its mission through digital program including the Holocaust Speaker Series, which is presented on Zoom every Wednesday via Zoom at 11 a.m., educational resources for teachers, in-person tours. Visitors can learn more about the museum by visiting https:// www.holocaustandhumanity.org/ KEYCINCINNATI.COM 7
