I'll just say there's a lot more the museum offers than exhibits. I've done two faculty fellowships there, so that helps with pedagogy best practices and resources. I've done onsite research for a book about the MS St. Louis, notifying the research staff in advance of my visit so they could pull resources from the Maryland storehouse (this was a while ago). I find the Tower of Life the most interesting part. Those of us who teach the Holocaust are encouraged to include vibrant Jewish life prior to the Holocaust. Any opportunity I get, I will keep going.
I've absolutely found the research help invaluable! And, again, I'm glad it exists and don't want to suggests Jews shouldn't go... only that we can choose for ourselves. There are other people--maybe most other people--who I think most definitely have an obligation to tour the museum.
I have been to the museum. I went with my grandparents, my brother and my cousin, quite a while ago. But... I have zero recollection of having gone through the museum. I have a snippet memory of the pile of shoes and maybe a pile of hair. But I cannot remember anything else inside that museum. I don't understand why, and I honestly feel BAD about it. I SHOULD remember! Going through that museum should be a non-trivial experience! I need to go again and maybe my memories will come flooding forth.
I have read many books that cover the topic. I do remember those. So many people just have NO idea about ALL the times and places that Jews have been displaced. I'm sure that some people would be absolutely shocked to realize that Jews have been kicked out of EVERY place in Europe at one point or another, and it wasn't always because of the Nazis.
Anyone remember the Spanish Inquisition?! There are still families, Catholic families with secret Jewish roots. Families still so afraid that the truth will get them killed that they won't ever acknowledge their heritage. Families are unexpectedly discovering specific genetic related cancers that only affect Jewish people.
If people would only see the similarities with immigration issues we face right now. Where should all of these people go when they no longer have homes? Americans don't want them here. Europeans don't want them there. Where should they go?! The State of Israel was given to all the Jewish People! All the Jewish People that no one else wanted. All the Jewish People that no one felt they had room for. They were given a place of their own where they could practice their religion and live their lives freely the way they have always wanted to. The way they were never allowed to elsewhere.
As a species, we are detrimentally learning impaired. The plight of the Jewish People is well documented in history, but the same treatment keeps coming back around and I don't want anyone to have to go through it again. More than one war has been fought about this. Jewish People living are not taking life away from anyone else! Having a Jewish neighbor shouldn't cause anyone grief! I would consider it an enormous blessing! Having a Jewish Nation was and always will be the solution for the Jewish People!
I’ve never wanted to go, and I never will. I hope that the person you were going to meet to see the photos has a back-up person, because those photos would be a great add to your book. I wish the world were far different than the reality of what it is. If we are God’s chosen people, perhaps God might to pay more attention.
I went and, of course found it very upsetting. When I was young we saw all the films in Temple Youth Group. When the museum opened I went. I can't remember if I was with my Mother or Annette. It certainly made it more real and I didn't have any bad experiences of being pushed and as I remember everyone else at them Museum was respectful. I don't need to go back.
Yes, it does beg the question, where will 7 million Jews go if Israel no longer exists. I've wondered that, too.
Funny thing, I am a school nurse and I accompanied a field trip to that same museum last month. I'd been to Yad Vashem in November of 2022, when I visited Jerusalem. A door opened for me to go, and I'm glad I did when I could. I had a strong feeling that things would blow up over there. But I'd never been to the Museum in D.C.
Yes, I can relate to the kids running around, not really knowing what was going on. I remember, standing next to the Torah scrolls that had been torn and damaged. Some teens came along and said, flippantly, "what's that?" "I dunno!" the other said. Yes, many people are clueless about history, and where the Jews fit in. Our young people have largely forgotten history.
I remember in high school, my 10th grade English teacher said that when he was in high school, they spent a whole half semester studying the Holocaust. He'd seen so many pictures of the bodies that he never wanted to study it again. So when we read Night, we didn't dwell too long on it.
(Also, speaking of Torah Scrolls being displayed in non-Jewish contexts, the Creation Science Museum and the Ark Encounter both have decommissioned Torah Scrolls on display in their museums. )
I'll just say there's a lot more the museum offers than exhibits. I've done two faculty fellowships there, so that helps with pedagogy best practices and resources. I've done onsite research for a book about the MS St. Louis, notifying the research staff in advance of my visit so they could pull resources from the Maryland storehouse (this was a while ago). I find the Tower of Life the most interesting part. Those of us who teach the Holocaust are encouraged to include vibrant Jewish life prior to the Holocaust. Any opportunity I get, I will keep going.
I've absolutely found the research help invaluable! And, again, I'm glad it exists and don't want to suggests Jews shouldn't go... only that we can choose for ourselves. There are other people--maybe most other people--who I think most definitely have an obligation to tour the museum.
I have been to the museum. I went with my grandparents, my brother and my cousin, quite a while ago. But... I have zero recollection of having gone through the museum. I have a snippet memory of the pile of shoes and maybe a pile of hair. But I cannot remember anything else inside that museum. I don't understand why, and I honestly feel BAD about it. I SHOULD remember! Going through that museum should be a non-trivial experience! I need to go again and maybe my memories will come flooding forth.
I have read many books that cover the topic. I do remember those. So many people just have NO idea about ALL the times and places that Jews have been displaced. I'm sure that some people would be absolutely shocked to realize that Jews have been kicked out of EVERY place in Europe at one point or another, and it wasn't always because of the Nazis.
Anyone remember the Spanish Inquisition?! There are still families, Catholic families with secret Jewish roots. Families still so afraid that the truth will get them killed that they won't ever acknowledge their heritage. Families are unexpectedly discovering specific genetic related cancers that only affect Jewish people.
If people would only see the similarities with immigration issues we face right now. Where should all of these people go when they no longer have homes? Americans don't want them here. Europeans don't want them there. Where should they go?! The State of Israel was given to all the Jewish People! All the Jewish People that no one else wanted. All the Jewish People that no one felt they had room for. They were given a place of their own where they could practice their religion and live their lives freely the way they have always wanted to. The way they were never allowed to elsewhere.
As a species, we are detrimentally learning impaired. The plight of the Jewish People is well documented in history, but the same treatment keeps coming back around and I don't want anyone to have to go through it again. More than one war has been fought about this. Jewish People living are not taking life away from anyone else! Having a Jewish neighbor shouldn't cause anyone grief! I would consider it an enormous blessing! Having a Jewish Nation was and always will be the solution for the Jewish People!
LET JEWISH PEOPLE LIVE!!
JUST LET THEM LIVE!!!
Rant over. Shalom! 🙏🏽
I’ve never wanted to go, and I never will. I hope that the person you were going to meet to see the photos has a back-up person, because those photos would be a great add to your book. I wish the world were far different than the reality of what it is. If we are God’s chosen people, perhaps God might to pay more attention.
I am my mama's child. I knew you, like me, would never imagine that it was a place we should visit.
I went and, of course found it very upsetting. When I was young we saw all the films in Temple Youth Group. When the museum opened I went. I can't remember if I was with my Mother or Annette. It certainly made it more real and I didn't have any bad experiences of being pushed and as I remember everyone else at them Museum was respectful. I don't need to go back.
We are so alike in many ways, cousin! This is one of them.
My goal in life is to be just like you and my cousin Sidney ❤️
Yes, it does beg the question, where will 7 million Jews go if Israel no longer exists. I've wondered that, too.
Funny thing, I am a school nurse and I accompanied a field trip to that same museum last month. I'd been to Yad Vashem in November of 2022, when I visited Jerusalem. A door opened for me to go, and I'm glad I did when I could. I had a strong feeling that things would blow up over there. But I'd never been to the Museum in D.C.
Yes, I can relate to the kids running around, not really knowing what was going on. I remember, standing next to the Torah scrolls that had been torn and damaged. Some teens came along and said, flippantly, "what's that?" "I dunno!" the other said. Yes, many people are clueless about history, and where the Jews fit in. Our young people have largely forgotten history.
I remember in high school, my 10th grade English teacher said that when he was in high school, they spent a whole half semester studying the Holocaust. He'd seen so many pictures of the bodies that he never wanted to study it again. So when we read Night, we didn't dwell too long on it.
(Also, speaking of Torah Scrolls being displayed in non-Jewish contexts, the Creation Science Museum and the Ark Encounter both have decommissioned Torah Scrolls on display in their museums. )