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