66 | OCTOBER 17 • 2024 J
N

Looking Back

One Survivor’s Dedication
T

he date Sept. 16 was a special anniversary for the Metro Detroit Jewish 
community. On this day 40 years ago, the Holocaust Memorial Center in 
Farmington Hills was dedicated. When the original Holocaust Center debuted 
on the campus of the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, it was the 
first freestanding institution in America devoted to the memory and study of the 
Holocaust.
The holocaust center was renamed the Zekelman Holocaust Center 
in 2022 to honor the Zekelman family. The Zekelmans have provided 
substantial donations to the Center for many years.
The current Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills opened 
in 2004. It is nearly five times larger than the first building and boasts 
a museum (with a core exhibit that was freshly renovated in 2024); 
special exhibit areas; meeting rooms and offices; and an important 
and extensive research library and archives. Every year, the Center also 
develops and delivers a host of innovative educational programs for 
visitors and students.
To say the least, the Zekelman Holocaust Center is an impressive structure that 
holds, preserves and provides access to an array of significant historical exhibits and 
collections. It is also the culmination of one person’s vision, many years of planning, 
hours and hours of volunteer efforts, and donations from thousands of supporters. 
The Center began as the dream of Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig (1920-2008). Michael 
Weiss of Oak Park captured Rosenzveig’s determination: “When you looked into 
his eyes, you could always see him thinking about what else he could bring to the 
museum. That vision … not too many people have that.” Dr. David Silbert, a Center 
board member in 2005, stated that, although the rabbi was polarizing at times, “The 
guy is amazing!”
I found Rabbi Rosenzveig’s name on 323 pages in the William Davidson Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit History. More than 500 pages in the Archive have content 
about the Center.
Rabbi Rosenzveig was born in Poland. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, he 
migrated to the Soviet Union, where he spent hard time in a work camp. He met his 
wife, Helen, while in Kazakhstan. Although Rosenzveig escaped the Holocaust, his 
mother and younger brother were lost in the Shoah. 
The rabbi spent time in Poland, Czechoslovakia and France after the war before 
moving to New York in 1947. He attended Yeshiva University and was ordained in 
1949.
After moving to Detroit, the Rosenzveigs joined the local Survivors organization, Shaarit Haplaytah (“The 
Remnant”). In 1964, Rabbi Rosenzveig announced his dream of a memorial institution. Twenty years later, he brought 
it to fruition. Constantly seeking improvements, he also oversaw renovations in 1992 and the building of the new 
facility in 2004.

The Center was dedicated on Sept. 16, 1984. An estimated 1,500 supporters attended the occasion. Keynote speaker, 
U.S. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, declared that it is “our solemn duty” to remember the Holocaust. Michigan Gov. 
James Blanchard remarked, “Remembering must not simply be a Jewish experience, but a human experience.”

Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig died on Dec. 11, 2008, and is buried in Jerusalem. His legacy, the Zekelman Holocaust 
Center, is a physical reminder of his dream and of the idea that we must “never forget.” 

The Holocaust Center will celebrate its 40th anniversary on Nov. 10. To attend, visit holocaustcenter.org/event/40th-anniversary-benefit. 

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com