14 | APRIL 27 • 2023
S
ince 2008, thousands of visitors have
learned the history of European
Jewry before and during the
Holocaust through the core exhibit of the
Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington
Hills. Multi-faceted presentations depict the
centuries of vibrant Jewish life in European
communities before the Nazis gained power
and eventually implemented their “Final
Solution” — the horrific systematic murder
of 6 million European Jews.
“Over the past few years, we’ve come to
realize the core exhibit needs
to change to meet the needs of
current and future generations,
”
says Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO
of the Zekelman Holocaust
Center. “
As the population of
survivors dwindles, most future
visitors to the Holocaust Center
will not be able to meet a Holocaust survi-
vor face-to-face and hear them speak. Our
job is to give people an opportunity to con-
nect with these individuals and their stories
throughout time. We believe our new core
exhibit will do just that.
”
Jewish Family Service, which assists many
local Holocaust survivors, estimates that
there are 400 to 600 survivors living in the
Detroit area. This compares with 4,000 to
6,000 immediately after World War II.
The totally redesigned core exhibit
will encompass new research about the
Holocaust, additional stories of local sur-
vivors, especially women, and new tech-
nology to facilitate visitor interaction with
the content. According to Mayerfeld, recent
research has broadened the “understand-
ing of the killing fields in Eastern Europe,
including 30,000 people killed at Babi Yar
and 1.5 to 2 million murdered in their own
backyards.
”
The new exhibit, which has been planned
for six years, will provide access to 700
testimonies of Michigan Holocaust survi-
vors. With new technology, the Holocaust
Center will be able to rotate local narratives
in the exhibit for different storytelling
purposes, and customize media to com-
memorate certain events and anniversaries,
such as Kristallnacht and the liberation of
Auschwitz.
“We want to avoid it becoming just
another part of history. We want it to be
more immediate,
” Mayerfeld explains.
Uniquely women’s stories of rape, sexual
violence and the loss of children will be an
important element, he says.
Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO
of The Henry Ford, who has collaborated
with the Holocaust Memorial Center, agrees
that individual accounts of the Holocaust
are essential. “It’s hugely important to hear
the voice of the person. You can hear pas-
sion, fear and relief by their expression if
you can see the person. Oral interviews are
a part of our collection — a way to tell and
re-tell history. The exhibit may change but
the stories will last,
” she says.
The new Holocaust Center exhibit will
also include more material about contem-
porary antisemitism, asking, “What can
A Redesign for
Future Generations
Rabbi Eli
Mayerfeld
OUR COMMUNITY
Zekelman Holocaust Center plans new
core exhibit with expanded content and
interactive components.
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
An exhibit of
killing centers
at the Zekelman
Holocaust Center