The Nir Galim Holocaust museum, located south of Tel Aviv, is a testimony of what a dedicated group of Holocaust survivors can achieve through a burning desire to share their experiences with future generations.
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With virtual tours, use of social media and first-hand accounts by survivors, the museum – known as The Testimony House – opens its doors to thousands of visitors every year, especially youngsters.
Rachel Rosenman is the director of the museum, although she was working with youth long before she took over The Testimony House.
"I was born and raised in the Nir Galim moshav, and at the age of 30 started a career outside the settlement," she told Israel Hayom. "For years, I worked as a creator and screenwriter of children and youth programs on television. I remember when I was a screenwriter I would sit during meals and consult with my children on what to speak about to the youngsters. This riddle – how to reach the youth and children – is an ever-changing one and the solution must be dynamic because youngsters constantly change."
Q: Is that when your connection to the Holocaust began?
"One time I brought my mom to share her story as a little girl in the Holocaust. That was the first time she shared her story, which she went on to tell many times. It is also based on my background – from a childhood in which parents who survived the Holocaust did not speak about what happened, and raised their children in complete silence. We saw the numbers tattooed on their forearms, but never dared ask and they never shared.
"As a child, I flinched at commemorating Holocaust Day, which was too threatening. Things began to surface when my children were assigned by their schools to create family trees. They asked my parents many questions and so they began to share. As a rule, as soon as survivors shared their stories, they realized that one day there would be no one left to tell them. That is how The Testimony House was established in the 1990s. This house turned into an educational center to teach about the Holocaust, especially young people, but also security officials and the general public. The height of every visit is the conversation with Holocaust survivors who share their stories."
Q: With modern learning disorders, such as ADHD, how does the center educate teenagers about the Holocaust?
"It is a great challenge to keep them connected to such a dramatic and significant event in the Jewish history. Someone suggested allowing them to enter The Testimony House with their phones and use special apps. I was against it, because I explained the moment they take out their phone, we lost them. That is why our approach is to disconnect from the external disturbances and to connect them to the experience."
Q: What does that look like in action?
"For example, every year the Righteous Among the Nations were spoken about, and deservedly so. But there were also many cases when Jews saved Jews, and received less attention. Several years prior, these stories began to be emphasized, mostly from a place of making the youth understand that we did not go like sheep to the slaughter, because there were Jews who saved Jews. It gives one a sense of pride.
"We also stress the aspect of a ray of light in the darkness, without the stories about the atrocities but an emphasis on the things that gave strength to the Jews that survived this hell. The youngsters connect to these stories and it causes them to walk away with a sense of uprightness, with a feeling of strength as a people and as individuals."
Q: And what do survivors say about the work of The Testimony House? Is there any criticism?
"For the most part, we receive support. For example, about half a year ago when we brought a wagon that used to transport Jews to concentration camps. The wagon was displayed in the garden of The Testimony House, and even though there was some criticism, most of the survivors saw a value in people entering the wagon and attempting to connect to what they felt during the Holocaust. This is a generation of extraordinary strength and focus of preserving the memory of the Holocaust, especially among the youth."
Q: Nevertheless, you do use some technological means, like the eva.stories Instagram page, which also garnered some criticism.
"With regard to the Instagram page, it was done properly and with the necessary sensitivity. It speaks to teenagers whose language is technology, and it connects them better to the memory of the Holocaust," Rosenman continued.
"As for other technological means, a few months ago we filmed a guided tour in Poland – of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp – that will be screened with virtual reality glasses. The tour is identical to the one given in Poland, with an experienced tour guide of ours. After the virtual guided tour, they remove the classes and go into a room that is designed as the Birkenau platform, where they learn about the prisoners' day-to-day lives.
Nevertheless, "I have come across less successful ways to use social media, in my opinion. For example, everything related to the memory of the Holocaust. Holocaust survivors were filmed on TikTok and I think it portrays them in a disrespectful manner. One thing that we insist on is being respectful, and not disrespect when it comes to the Holocaust. Yes to using technology, but with wisdom, respect and decency."
Q: Can the virtual tour be just as impactful and emotional as the one in Poland?
"I know there's a lot of debate about the Poland tours. In general, I support them but they, of course, require proper preparations. But in the coronavirus era, there have been changes. Not everyone will travel, both due to financial and emotional reasons. The alternatives to a Poland tour are increasing exponentially. This can be a substitute for a four-day tour that tells the story from the Holocaust until the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, and we go through monuments of the museum and learn the stories. For those who do not make it to Poland, this is a worthwhile alternative.
"I think traveling to Poland is not suitable for everyone, not even every school, and therefore great alternatives must be prepared in Israel for those for whom the tour is not an option, for whatever reason. It is important for me that specifically schools with at-risk youth experience this, specifically the teenagers that might connect to this less."
Q: Do the school children who come to participate in the tour have basic knowledge of the Holocaust?
"Most of them are 14-year-olds, and their connection to the Holocaust is through their great grandparents, who survived. The goal is not to make them connect to the Holocaust as a historical event."
Q: Does time affect the way the Holocaust is remembered?
"Last year on Holocaust Day, more than 3,000 participants came to The Testimony House memorial event, mostly youth, and the number increased each year. They come because they feel connected – not to the speeches, but the emotional stories.
"Part of the renewedness is expressed in the fact that there are no boring events, because that is the scariest thing for youth in terms of the Holocaust – boring events. They want to feel and connect."
Q: Which display in the museum do you find impacts them the most?
"The personal stories that reach a special place in them, what survivors felt during the selection process, how it felt to say goodbye to their parents and never see them again. How do I know that a survivor just finished sharing his or her story? I hear listeners clap when the speaker is done, and then they take pictures with the survivors, as if they were celebrities."
Q: With different political streams affecting the Holocaust narrative, how does the museum make sure it stays objective?
"I don't think objectivity is the real issue. The Holocaust is a tragedy that happened to the Jewish people, and is unique to the Jewish people, and we pass it on to those close to us. I know some museums in Israel and in the world seek to send a message of 'remain humane so that this never happens again.' But a universal approach denies the generations-long antisemitism and the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own. We support the approach that the Holocaust is a unique event in the history of humankind."
Q: Where is the line between the memory of the Holocaust and absolute truth? This question comes up, for exampe, when it comes to the number of Holocaust victims, with most researchers agreeing that it was 6 million, although this is not an absolute fact.
"Preserving the memory is crucial. The moment they tried to make new narratives, there were cases of Holocaust denial. Six million Jews were killed is a number that was determined, and there is no need for new narratives on the matter. Our goal is to tell what happened, how it happened, what process led to it and how we are making sure it won't happen again."
Q: But absolute facts matter long-term. In a few years, someone might bring new facts challenging our subjective memory.
"This has already happened in the past. There was always someone who tried to rewrite our history. I don't know, for example, how many people will listen to the testimonies in the trial of [Nazi perpetrator] Adolf Eichmann in the future. It is a difficult task that requires being consistent. This battle is bound to be fought in the future, and the more time goes by, the harder it will be. That is why connecting the youth is so important, so that they will not get swept up by the deniers."
Q: Poland recently passed a law that restricts the rights of Holocaust survivors or their descendants to reclaim property seized by the country's former communist regime. Do you think this shows that with time, the memory of the Holocaust and the pain of the atrocities diminishes?
"We don't get involved in politics at the Testimony House. We have a different goal. We condemn on social media if there are inappropriate statements, but do not engage in debates or controversies. We try to be as stately as possible," Rosenman said.
Q: In your opinion, what does the government need to do in order to preserve the memory of the Holocaust?
"Allocate a budget to Holocaust institutions that host tens of thousands of young people every year, and not leave the museum begging for support. Without governmental support, which is minimal, we will not be able to carry out this task, which is among the greatest ones of our education today."
Q: Going back to the wagon you mentioned, how do the visitors react when they step in?
"They are moved. They stand in reverence. Bringing it to Israel was a challenging task. I found out in the middle of the night that a museum in Germany was putting it up for sale. I decided that we should buy it, and did so before other museums in Warsaw or Florida that also wanted it.
"It involved a lot of bureaucracy, commissions, approvals. Customs Control wanted approval from the Transportation Ministry. I had to explain to them that the vehicle has not been ridden in over 80 years.
"In the end, we succeeded in getting it to the museum, and today it stands on railways donated by the Israel Railways. There are only 23 such original wagons around the world. When it was installed with a crane, several Holocaust survivors watched on and were moved. Everyone had memories of the wagons."
Q: Like what?
"My father said he was transported to Buchenwald in a wagon. Everyone was weak and hungry after the hard labor and the grueling death march, and many died in the wagon. Because of the overcrowding, those who survived had to arrange the dead on the side of the wagon and sit on them."
Q: What does it feel like to have this wagon under your responsibility?
"Terrifying. There are surveillance cameras and sometimes I look at footage in the middle of the night to make sure everything is ok. It's scary, but we protect it for future generations.
"I believe that everything that the survivors went through we pass on to generations after us. A part of the establishment of our state began there, and when we learn and remember what happened there, we will have no doubt as to why we are here today, in the State of Israel. That is the survivor's message that we must always remember."
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