“If the Holocaust ever seems like a distant historical event, there’s a museum in town that can help you get a sense of what genocide is all about.
As you enter the Holocaust section of the Museum of Tolerance, you are given a photo passport card which describes the story and identity of a child whose life was affected by the Holocaust. As you walk further, you see scenes of events that led to the Holocaust. My favorite is the outdoor cafe scene, where you can eavesdrop on conversations people might have had on the street in Berlin before World War II. You get a true sense of the different feelings of the Germans just as Hitler and the Nazi people were coming to power.
Then you actually walk through a recreation of the frightening entrance to the famous Auschwitz camp—Jews were told they were going there to work, but almost everyone went to their deaths. You end the tour in a mock gas chamber, complete with openings where deadly gas would have emerged. Finally as you leave the Holocaust section, you are given a pamphlet that tells you the fate of the child on your passport.
If that is not enough for you, the eight-story Museum has a lot more to offer: a Tolerance Center, Multimedia Learning Center and Temporary Exhibit Gallery with exhibits such as “Stealing Home: How Jackie Robinson Changed America.” No wonder more than 100,000 students visit the center each year.
The Tolerance Center has interactive exhibits which discuss intolerance in today’s society and recent examples of racism. Don’t miss “In Our Time,” a film on the Bosnian and Rwandan crises and contemporary neo-Nazi groups. Another good one is “Ain’t You Gotta Right?” a 16-screen video wall on the American civil rights movement.
The newest attraction is the Point of View Diner, where you sit in a diner booth and learn about an incident of racial hatred. Then you get to ask the people involved questions, and vote on what you think about it. Dennis Nendza, the museum’s volunteer coordinator, said teens like the diner because it “asks people to think about who’s responsible when something goes wrong. People have the opportunity to have input by voting… so it does put the power in the hands of the individual.”
The Museum also hosts special programs. Many Holocaust survivors speak about their experiences. Nendza said, “It relieves a little bit of their suffering; it gives them somebody to talk to. Many of them have a profound dedication to getting the word out.”
Another special program is “Out of the Depths of Hate: A Talk With Tom Leyden.” Leyden, a former skinhead, renounced his racist beliefs two years ago. He now works as speaker for the Simon Weisenthal Center, informing teens and adults about hate groups.
The Museum will make you feel very sad, but it’s fun and informative too. Since its opening in 1993, I’ve been there five times. If you haven’t checked out the Museum of Tolerance yet, I highly recommend that you do.”
