MUSKEGON, MI – A new exhibit in Muskegon is attempting to shed some light on one of the most horrific incidents in human history.
“The Holocaust: A Ripple in Time” opened at the USS Silversides Submarine, 1346 Bluff St., on Nov. 9 and will remain on display until Feb. 22. More than 200 people attended the exhibit’s opening night reception.
“We had a huge audience the night we opened it up,” said museum curator Peggy Maniates. “We were gathering chairs from everywhere. For being November and at 6 p.m., we were surprised at how many we had. We had a nice mix of young people and older people.”
The original exhibition uses charts and graphs and historic photos and artifacts to chronicle the plight of the Jewish people; approximately 6 million of which were killed under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.
In an idea borrowed from the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., the exhibit begins with guests drawing a name of a holocaust survivor or casualty. Once they complete the exhibit, guests can look up the name to see what happened to the person.
The display itself is divided into three sections. The first depicts Jewish life before the Nazi takeover of Europe, the second depicts “The Dark Years,” and the all-to-familiar images of the concentration and death camps and the third section attempts to show what life was like for the survivors following their liberation by allied forces in 1945.
Each section is symbolized by a fence that surrounds it with the pre-war life characterized by a white picket fence flanked by flowers, “The Dark Years” marked by a dark iron fence and barbed wire and post-war life represented by a damaged white picket fence flanked by the rebirth of flowers.
Bill Jacobs, curatorial volunteer, who is a former Muskegon Community College history professor, said it is the third section, the after, that often goes forgotten when people talk about the Holocaust.
“The real horror of the holocaust is being torn out of everyday life and thrown into a life of annihilation,” he said. “People wonder why they just didn’t go back to what they were doing before the war. Well, the whole concept of ordinary life had been erased. They had to rebuild what it means to be human.”
Among the items on display are a timeline of events, maps, books, a cloak bearing the Star of David, propaganda posters from Nazi Germany, images of the concentration camps, a letter from President Harry Truman to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower discussing how to deal with the refugees of the camps and a six-minute video.
Many of the items are on loan from the museum in Washington D.C. and the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills where museum staff visited for advice in October.
One of the most prominent pieces in the display are reprints of anti-Semitic children’s books which were used to educate Germany’s youth to beware of the Jewish people. Maniates said the books are the one part of the exhibit that has the greatest effect on people.
“The reception has been absolutely wonderful,” Maniates said. “A lot of people are amazed, especially with what happens after the war, that’s a concept they haven’t really thought about.”
Museum staff also hopes the exhibit will help inspire people to think about the parallels of the Holocaust to 2015. So far, it appears that has been a success.
“There has been a lot of silence and a lot of respect,” Maniates said of guests’ demeanor when visiting the display. “Lots of people spending some time with their own thoughts and thinking about what’s going on in the world right now.”
Two more events are scheduled to take place in conjunction with the exhibit. A book discussion on “Sophie’s Choice” will take place at the Hackley Public Library 6 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2016. The film discussion will take place at the museum at 6 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2016.
A book discussion of “Exodus” is scheduled at the library at 6 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2016. The film screening and discussion will be held in two parts at 6 p.m. on Feb. 10, 2016 and Feb. 17, 2016.
Anyone who attends the book discussion will receive a free pass to attend the film screenings. Otherwise, admission to the film screening is $5 to the public and free for museum members or WWII veterans.
By Brandon Champion
Original article published HERE.
