JANUARY 18 • 2024 | 13
J
N

continued on page 14

O

n an early tour I
took last month of
the reimagined The
Zekelman Holocaust Center
(The HC), I was touched to
find a panel in one gallery
that showed my late father,
Zyga “Zygie” Allweiss. I read a
statement extracted from his
own recorded testimony at the
museum in which he shares
a frightening experience he
witnessed in a concentration
camp.
The memories of Holocaust
survivors like my dad, whether
living or deceased, have been
taken out of the museum vaults
and brought front and center
in an extensive reshaping of
how The HC explains the
Holocaust. We hear portions
of the survivors’ testimonies in
their own voices. We consider
their words displayed on panels
and gallery walls or projected
on floors. Sometimes we realize
we even know the people we are
seeing and hearing. By shifting

the focus from the perpetrators
to the Jewish victims, The HC
is preserving the legacy of our
precious survivors to benefit
generations to come.
The public will have its first
official opportunity to explore
the thoughtfully designed and
more relevant The Zekelman
Holocaust Center when its
doors open at 9:30 a.m. Sunday,
Jan. 28. (See box.)
After World War II, Michigan
was home to 4,000 Jewish
Holocaust survivors, including
Hidden Children and others
who barely escaped the coming
Nazi threat. The arrivals built
forward-looking lives during
decades of safety and security in
the United States.
These special individuals
evoke our respect for the losses
they experienced and survived
before joining our Michigan
Jewish community.
Many of the Detroit-based
residents found friendship
in Shaarit Haplaytah (“The

Remnant”). They actively
supported the late Rabbi
Charles H. Rosenzweig’s 20-year
quest to build a museum
dedicated to their experiences.
The founders achieved their
goal by 1981 on the grounds of
the Jewish Community Center
in West Bloomfield. When it
opened officially in 1984, theirs
was the first free-standing
Holocaust museum in the
United States.
Motivated survivors,
including Zygie, joined elected
officials and other dignitaries
in 2001 for the groundbreaking
of the current museum in
Farmington Hills, which
opened four years later. The
Zekelman Holocaust Center,
honoring a major donor family,
became the museum’s new
name two years ago in January.
After Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld
became the chief executive
officer about seven years ago,
various stakeholders at The HC
— including staff, volunteers,

survivors, docents and board
members — started working
with him on a strategic plan to
develop the museum’s priorities.
One was updating the core
exhibit from 2004.

Details
Grand Opening Jan. 28
The grand opening of the
new permanent exhibition
at The Zekelman Holocaust
Center will be from 9:30
a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday,
Jan. 28, in observance of
International Holocaust
Remembrance Day.
Admission is free.
A dedication ceremony
will be at 11 a.m. At noon,
local Holocaust survivor
Irene Miller will share her
life story. Also scheduled
are “Conversation with the
Curator and Designer” at
1:30 p.m. and “Spotlight on
Women in the Holocaust” at
2:30 p.m.
The Zekelman Holocaust
Center is at 28123 Orchard
Lake Road in Farmington
Hills. For details, visit
holocaustcenter.org or call
(248) 553-2400, ext. 140.

Facing page: A docent
tours part of the timeline.
This page: A renovated
hallway pairs actions
imposed on Jews with
personal reflections
about the impact of those
actions.

OWEN KAUFMAN