Florida Holocaust Museum - St Petersburg, FL
N 27° 46.237 W 082° 38.446
17R E 338322 N 3072871
The Florida Holocaust Museum honors the memory of millions of innocent men, women, and children who suffered or died in the Holocaust.
Waymark Code: WM5J7X
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/12/2009
Views: 20
The museum website lists the following mission and history:
Mission
The Florida Holocaust Museum honors the memory of millions of innocent men, women, and children who suffered or died in the Holocaust. The Museum is dedicated to teaching members of all races and cultures to recognize the inherent worth and dignity of human life in order to prevent future genocides.
History
One of the largest Holocaust museums in the country, the Florida Holocaust Museum is the result of St. Petersburg businessman and philanthropist, Walter P. Loebenberg’s remarkable journey and vision. He escaped Nazi Germany in 1939 and served in the United States Army during WWII. Together, with a group of local businessmen and community leaders, the concept of a living memorial to those who suffered and perished was conceived. Among the participating individuals were Survivors of the Holocaust and individuals who lost relatives, as well as those who had no personal investment, other than wanting to ensure that such atrocities could never again happen to any group of people.
To this end, the group enlisted the support of others in the community and were able to involve internationally renowned Holocaust scholars. Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler’s List, joined the Board of Advisors and Elie Weisel was named Honorary Chairman of this Holocaust Center.
In 1992, the Museum rented a space it could afford but would soon outgrow, on the grounds of the Jewish Community Center of Pinellas County in Madeira Beach, Florida, tucked away from the mainstream of Tampa Bay life. Starting with only one staff member and a small group of dedicated volunteers, it quickly surpassed all expectations.
Within the first month, over 24,000 visitors came to see Anne Frank in the World, the Center’s inaugural exhibit. The Tampa Bay showing of this exhibition—which traces a young Jewish girl’s journey from a complacent childhood in pre-World War II Holland, through her early teens hiding from the Nazis, to her death at Bergen-Belsen—poignantly touched all visitors.
During the next five years, the new Holocaust Center greeted more than 125,000 visitors to view internationally acclaimed exhibits. Thousands more participated in lectures, seminars and commemorative events at the Center, which now reached directly into schools in an eight county area surrounding Tampa Bay with study guides, teacher training programs, and presentations by Center staff and Holocaust Survivors.
The Center expanded to encompass a growing print and audio-visual library, a photographic archive, a repository for historic artifacts, and a research facility for educators and scholars—all of this crowded into a 4,000 square foot facility that was not designed for museum or educational purposes.
Undeterred by constraints of size or location, the Tampa Bay Holocaust Memorial Museum and Educational Center evolved into the preeminent source of Holocaust information in the Southeastern United States and one of the foremost Holocaust institutions in the country.
As a result of this growth, the Board of Directors—in the latter half of 1996—approved the purchase of a 27,000 square foot building in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, to be renovated and occupied by 1998.
In one year, the doors of the new building opened on February 28, 1998 under budget and ahead of schedule. Over 65,000 visitors viewed the exhibits of the Museum during its first year in its new downtown St. Petersburg location. Traveling and special exhibits such as Judy Chicago’s Holocaust Project: From Darkness into Light, Michael Smuss: Reflections of a Holocaust Survivor, Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Stealing Home: How Jackie Robinson Changed America, Robert O. Fisch: Light from a Yellow Star and Witness and Legacy offered visual explorations of the Holocaust and modern day issues.
In January of 1999, the Museum officially changed its name to the Florida Holocaust Museum. The new name better suited the criteria established in the mission statement of the Museum, reflected the utilization of the Museum as a statewide and national resource, and created greater awareness and impact beyond the Tampa Bay area.
The Museum played a critical role in shaping legislation that in 1994 made Florida one of the first states in the nation to mandate Holocaust education in the public schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade. In a collaborative effort between the Museum and the Pinellas County School System, guidelines were developed for K-12 teachers. The guidelines include grade-appropriate instructional goals and bibliography for teaching the Holocaust. These guidelines are used by teachers throughout the nation as well as in Florida.
All of the suffering and loss will be meaningless if we do not understand what took place and act to insure that it will never happen again. As we experience the hate and mistrust that comes with prejudice and ignorance, one of our basic human emotional needs, hope, can be fulfilled. We must challenge and educate those who promote hatred and intolerance. The vision of the Florida Holocaust Museum is a future in which peace and harmony are reality in our neighborhoods, in our nation, and in our world.
Physical Address:
55 5th st S
St Petersburg, FL usa
33701
Date Dedicated: 02/28/1998
Supporting Website: [Web Link]
Fee/Donation: 8 admission
Memorial Type: Museum
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Visit Instructions:
A picture of you is required at the site. A full description of your thoughts and experience on the site.