Michigan’s Holocaust Museum, Illuminating the Past. Enlightening the Future.

The Holocaust is a history not only of evil, although the evil is undeniable, but also of great courage, strength and righteousness. The Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus has been teaching about the Holocaust and its legacy for more than 30 years, and its building, exhibits and programs have been receiving international accolades and heartfelt thanks from our millions of visitors. The Wall Street Journal, in a front-page article about our museum said in reference to the provocative nature of our building that our museum “may be the most provocative museum of them all.” We are pleased that the architecture of this historic museum stirs the public consciousness of the unprecedented horrific crime of the Holocaust. Knowledge of the past is essential in order to avoid its repetition. “The visit to the Holocaust Center changed our lives” is the most prevalent reaction following a visit to the HMC. Witnessing the horrors perpetrated by the most educated society in Europe brings the rude awakening that education, including religious education, is no barrier against hatred and violence. The education that one absorbs in the HMC veers one towards constructive social consciousness. By highlighting and disseminating knowledge of the acts of the righteous and their constructive consequences, the HMC serves as a powerful antidote and countervailing force to the hatred and evil forces of destruction. The most effective way of combating hatred and evil is to strengthen, enhance, and enlarge the legion of the righteous. Our second floor houses a multi-lingual Library Archive and research center. Although the collection does not circulate, copy service is available. The visitor will have experienced a brief exposure to the most researched era in human history – revealing a flourishing culture and its brutal suppression, a chronicle of admirable and heroic rescuers and abject executioners. Through our exhibits the past casts its light and shadows into the present.