The Holocaust Memorial and
Tolerance Center of Nassau County
BY LORRAINE BERTAN,
MEMBER OF THE
CULTURAL AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Sunday, January 27, 2019,
was an auspicious day to
visit the Holocaust Memorial
and Tolerance Center of Nassau
County. It’s the date of the International
Holocaust Memorial Day,
commemorating the tragedy of the
Holocaust, which ended 60 years
earlier with the liberation of the
Auschwitz-Birkenaw death camps
by the Russian army.
Another reason to visit the
HMTC of Nassau county that
day was the showing of the documentary
film, “Who Will Write
Our History?” The film was simultaneously
shown in 300 venues
worldwide under the auspices of
UNESCO. Directed by Roberta
Grossman, the film was based on
the book by Samuel Kassow and
co-produced by Nancy Spielberg,
sister of Steven Spielberg. Actors
play the parts of the inhabitants
of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Jews have lived in Poland for
more than a thousand years, and
during the 16th century, the flowering
of Jewish culture occurred, with
the development of Hasidism and
the success of Jewish merchants
and landowners. Poland was the
home of the largest population of
Jews in the world up to the eighteenth
century. According to the
United States Holocaust Museum,
in 1933, there were 3 million Jews
living in Poland. The city of Warsaw
had a vibrant Jewish culture, with
many newspapers and theaters,
and Jews were well represented in
medicine and law.
On September 1, 1939, Germany
invaded Poland and established
the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, confining
Jews to a walled-in area of
1.3 square miles. The documentary,
“Who Will Write our History,”
describes the secretive and dangerous
efforts of Polish-Jewish historian
Emanuel Ringelblum, author
Rachel Auerbach and many others
to collect and record an archive of
life in the ghetto, called the Oyneg
Shabes Archive. It includes films
made by the Germans to portray
Jews in an insulting manner and
used as propaganda. Ordinary
theatrical posters, announcements
and newspapers became part of
the archives, stored in milk cans
and tin boxes, and mostly excavated
from the rubble of the Warsaw
ghetto in 1946.
The discovered materials constitute
about 6000 documents stored
in the Museum of Jewish History
in Warsaw, which record all facets
of life in the Warsaw Ghetto: the
soup kitchens, the conflicts with
the Jewish policemen, the Jewish
councils which acted as intermediaries
with the Nazis, interviews
with refugees from other cities who
witnessed massacres, the role of
women caring for orphans, teaching
children, and the adjustments
of extremely orthodox Jews living
in the ghetto. The archives are a
comprehensive record of life in the
ghetto from 1940-1943, when the
Warsaw Ghetto uprising occurred
and the Ghetto was destroyed.
The Holocaust Memorial and
Tolerance Center of Nassau
County occupies a former Pratt
mansion. It’s situated in the scenic
Welwyn Preserve, which has beautiful
walking trails leading to the
beach. The impressive landscaping
was designed by the Olmstead
Brothers.
HMTC was founded in 1992 and
is a result of the efforts of Boris
Chartan. Born in Poland in 1926,
Chartan was a holocaust survivor,
who emphasized the role of education
in preventing intolerance and
hatred. The exhibits at HMTC are
well designed, describe Jewish life
in Europe before the Holocaust,
and chronicle the rise of anti-Semitism
in Europe and the political
conditions which gave rise to the
Nazi party.
What is unusual about the
HMTC exhibits are the inclusion
of recent events depicting, not
only anti-Semitism, but examples
of intolerance worldwide, such
as those seen in Myanmar. This
makes the exhibit timely and informative
for the numerous school
groups which visit the center.
HMTC has guided tours, and film
programs throughout the year; you
can visit the site to learn about
guided tours and special programs
here:
https://www.hmtcli.org/about/
history
During April 29–May 6, 2019,
HMTC is organizing a trip to
Poland. Entitled “March of the
Living,” the trip includes visits
to places described in the film,
“Schindler’s List,” and other
memorials mentioned in the
documentary, “Who Will Write
our History.” See the following
resource, describing the trip for
more information:
https://www.hmtcli.org/event/
march-of-the-living-2019
After your visit to HMTC you
may want to dine at some of the
nearby charming restaurants,
such as “The American Café,”
“La Famiglia,” “Downtown Cafe,”
“Asian Fusion” and “Wild Ginger”
on School Street in Glen Cove.
Holocaust museum
10 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ March 2019
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