Holocaust museums enter a dynamic new era
across Canada The art and science of preserving survivor stories for future generations
I n addition to Toronto’s new Holocaust museum, three other centres in Canada— in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver—are also either being renovated or completely redesigned. All of the museums were initially spearheaded by survivors, who wanted a place to memorialize their loved ones and to teach younger generations. The museum redesigns now contemplate what is being called the post-survivor era, when survivors won’t be able to tell their first-hand stories of the horrors of the Shoah. Museums are also grappling with how to teach about genocide in a time of increasing Holocaust denial. Montreal The most ambitious project is the only mu- seum which won’t be on a Jewish community campus. The Montreal Holocaust Museum, scheduled to open in the fall of 2025, will be located on St. Laurent Boulevard, close to other museums and in the heart of what was once an immigrant Jewish neighbourhood. It will be by far the largest in the country, at 45,000 square feet Architects were selected
in an international competition and construc- tion is expected to start this fall, said Julia Reitman, chair of the capital campaign. The $90-million project has received contributions from provincial and federal governments as well as the Azrieli Founda- tion. About $10 million, which will include an endowment, still needs to be raised. The new building will have a “Dimensions in Testimony” installation, a project by the USC Shoah Foundation, that lets people pose questions to survivors, prompting real-time responses from pre-recorded videos. The first French-language testimony of a Montreal survivor using this technology will be in the museum. The facility will have space for permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as a gallery designed for children and families to open discussions about racism and antisemitism. “We were looking for a temporary exhibit space to be able to refresh the exhibit space, to bring in exhibits from elsewhere and also to be able to talk about other genocides else- where to put it into a present-day context,” Reitman said.
The old building received about 25,000 visitors annually, but was so busy that some groups had to start at the end and work toward the front of the space. That provided a disjointed experience. The new building hopes to see about 100,000 visitors a year. With 14,000 artifacts, the largest collec- tion in the country, curators will still have to make decisions about what to exhibit. However, the prize of the collection, a tiny heart-shaped birthday card made clandes- tinely in Auschwitz, will still be at the forefront of the museum. Winnipeg Winnipeg was the first centre to complete its $200,000 renovation, re-opening its 1,100-square-foot space in January. The Heritage Centre of Western Canada was stripped to the walls to rebuild, with a greater emphasis on life before the Second World War, antisemitism in Canada and the accomplishments of survivors in Canada, said executive director Belle Jarniewski. A large image of Auschwitz that used to dominate the back wall of the museum
20
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator