Holocaust topic of discussion at Pine Island Kiwanis meeting
Amy Snyder, executive director of The Holocaust Museum & Education Center of Southwest Florida, was guest speaker at the Pine Island Kiwanis weekly meeting last Wednesday. President Mike Shevlin and Tonya Player introduced Snyder to a group of about 25 members.
“As far as we know, the Holocaust Museum & Education Center of Southwest Florida is the only Holocaust museum inspired by students,” Snyder said. “In 1997-1998 at one of our middle schools, the students were reading the ‘Diary of Anne Frank.’ From those 19 students came a classroom exhibit called ‘Out of the Ashes.’ The students’ original mission statement was ‘to teach their children, to teach their children, to teach their children.'”
In 2001, the exhibit was transformed into The Holocaust Museum & Education Center of Southwest Florida operating as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation.
The mission of the museum is to “teach the lessons of the Holocaust to inspire action against bigotry, hatred, and violence.” The museum also collects artifacts that tell the individual stories within the larger history of the Holocaust and provides educational programs and activities to students at all grade levels.
Florida is one of nine states with mandatory laws stating that the history of the Holocaust is to be taught in grades K 12.
“The law states that the systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany, a watershed event in the history of humanity, is to be taught in grades K through 12 to teach an understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism and stereotyping,” Snyder said.
The museum’s signature program is the “5-8-10 project” where they send educators to schools, got grades 5, 8 and 10, to teach about the Holocaust. The 5th grade program centers around a Polish Catholic social worker during World War II named Irena Sendler. Sendler organized a rescue network of social workers that saved 2,500 Jewish children. Sendler’s story remained unknown for 60 years until a group of high school students created a play about her life entitled “Life in a Jar.”
“Irena Sendler’s story, and stories like hers, are living examples of the power of one person to change the world,” Snyder said. “These are unsung heroes of history that teach respect and understanding of all people, regardless of race, religion or creed.”
The museum houses over 1,000 World War II and Holocaust artifacts plus original photographs displayed chronologically from the rise of Nazism in 1933 to the Allied Liberation in 1945 and the Nuremberg Trials. Many of the artifacts have been donated or permanently loaned by local survivors, liberators and other dedicated people.
“We also do special projects focusing on a specific events between 1933 and 1945,” Snyder said. “In 2007, the museum acquired an authentic, World War II, 10-ton railway boxcar from Europe that has undergone extensive restoration. The boxcar is on loan to the museum from F.E. and Jack Nortman and the Nortman family. The boxcar travels to schools as part of our outreach program to allow participation in our outreach education activities by students, teachers and parents. To date the boxcar has visited more than 60 locations and right now is at FSU.”
The Holocaust Museum & Education Center of Southwest Florida is located at 4760 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 7, Naples, FL 34103.
For additional information about the museum, visit www.HolocaustMuseum-SWFL.org or call 239-263-9200.
Kiwanis is a worldwide service organization whose mission is to improve the lives of others, particularly children. Kiwanis was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1915 and has grown to 9,000 clubs located in more than 80 nations.
The Pine Island Kiwanis meets weekly at Bert’s Bar & Restaurant at 8am on Wednesday at Bert’s Bar.