THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
A DEPARTMENT OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION

Visitor Information

The Holocaust Memorial of San Antonio is a non-profit organization operating under the auspices of the Jewish Federation. Its exhibits are open to the public. All programs and educational services provided to schools, civic groups, church groups and individuals are offered free of charge.

The memorial was founded in 1990 at the urging of a group of local Holocaust survivors who wished to establish a permanent place of remembrance for their families and other victims of Nazi brutality.  They also wished to create a central location for the Holocaust educational services the Jewish Federation had been providing schools in the area since 1975.

In 2000, the memorial was moved from its original location to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community where it continues to expand its services to the general public. Recently, the memorial completed a total renovation of its permanent exhibit, which relates the history of the Holocaust in a narrative style that can be easily understood by young and old alike.

Although the Holocaust occurred in Europe many years ago, it continues to challenge our belief in human progress and force us to confront fundamental questions about the human capacity for evil and the human will to resist it. In examining the grim realities of this dark period of history, we come to understand that bigotry and racism can triumph only where there is indifference. Silence in the face of evil is never neutral. It encourages the oppressor. If it is possible to learn from history, it may also be possible to create a world in which we all see ourselves in the faces of strangers.

Location
The Holocaust Memorial is located on the upper level of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Jewish Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community, 12500 NW Military Highway, San Antonio, TX, 78231

Hours
The memorial is open to the public Monday- Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon and on  Sunday from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.  Afternoon tours, can be arranged by appointment: (210) 302 6807

Exhibits
The main exhibit in the memorial is divided into twenty-seven panels, each representing a stage or a major theme of the Holocaust. The exhibit includes pictures, maps, and artifacts. A smaller exhibit in an adjoining room relates the experiences of local survivors and liberators..

Educational Services
The following educational services can be accessed by phone 210/302-6807 or Fax 210/408-2332.

Holocaust Education Trunk

Trunks
Educational trunks complete with lesson plans, reading materials, DVDs and videos are included in trunks that are available for loan for four weeks to teachers who are planning a Holocaust unit for their classes.

Visiting the Memorial
Docent led tours are available for classes or groups. A  film, discussion led by a trained facilitator and a lecture by a Holocaust survivor are included in student tours. Time required varies.

Classroom Visits
The memorial offers a short unit in school classrooms for middle and high schools. The unit consists of a film, a discussion period with a trained facilitator and when available, a presentation by a Holocaust survivor. It requires 3 classroom periods and can be scheduled on consecutive days.

Teacher Training
 Classes designed to acquaint teachers with trunk contents are offered each year. Periodically, teachers are also invited to hear guest lecturers
and educators.

Tours and Visits
Individuals are welcome any time during regular opening hours. Docent-led group tours may be scheduled Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. 

Programs
The memorial sponsors several programs each year including the annual Yom Hashoah - Day of Remembrance program each spring. All programs are open to the public

GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING

Why Teach About the Holocaust?
The objective of teaching any subject is to engage the intellectual curiosity of students in order to inspire critical thought and personal growth. Therefore it is essential that educators consider questions of rationale whenever they approach any subject.

When educators take the time to consider the reasons for their lessons on the Holocaust, they will be more likely to select content that speaks to their students’ interests and that provides a clearer understanding of a complex history.

The following considerations may encourage reflection on the reasons for teaching about the Holocaust:

• The Holocaust was a watershed event, not only for the 20th century but also in the entire history of humanity. It was an unprecedented attempt to murder a whole people and to extinguish its culture. The Holocaust should be studied because it fundamentally challenged the foundations of civilization.
  
  
• A thorough study of the Holocaust helps students think about the use and abuse of power, and the roles and responsibilities of individuals, organizations, and nations when confronted with human rights violations. It can heighten awareness of the potential for genocide in the contemporary world.
  
  
• Study of the Holocaust assists students in developing an understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, antisemitism, and stereotyping in any society. It helps students develop an awareness of the value of diversity in a pluralistic society and encourages sensitivity to the positions of minorities.
  
  
• The Holocaust demonstrated how a modern nation could utilize its technological expertise and bureaucratic infrastructure to implement destructive policies ranging from social engineering to genocide.
  
  
• The Holocaust provides a context for exploring the dangers of remaining silent and indifferent in the face of the oppression of others.
  
  
• As students gain insight into the many historical, social, religious, political, and economic factors that cumulatively resulted in the Holocaust, they gain awareness of the complexity of the historical process and a perspective on how a convergence of factors can contribute to the disintegration of democratic values. Students come to understand that it is the responsibility of citizens in a democracy to learn to identify the danger signals and to know when to react.
  
  
• The Holocaust has become a central theme in the culture of many countries. This is reflected in media representation and popular culture. Holocaust education can offer students historical knowledge and skills needed to understand and evaluate these cultural manifestations.
  
  Quote is from the United States Holocaust Museum Taskforce Education website.  To learn more, go to:  http://taskforce.ushmm.org/about/index.php?content=affiliated/

 In February,Francine Garza-Vale, President of Light One Candle and Maxine Cohen, Director of the Holocaust Memorial of San Antonio invited local teachers to see the movie, "Paper Clips".  The following is a summary of the general content of this documentary.

The words of the ancient Psalm, rise from our hearts: ``I have become like a broken vessel. I hear the whispering of many - terror on every side - as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O Lord: I say, 'you are my God.''' (Psalms 31:13-15) In this place of memories, the mind and heart and soul feel an extreme need for silence. Silence in which to remember. Silence in which to try to make some sense of the memories which come flooding back. Silence because there are no words strong enough to deplore the terrible tragedy of the Shoah.

My own personal memories are of all that happened when the Nazis occupied Poland during the war. I remember my Jewish friends and neighbors, some of whom perished, while others survived. I have come to Yad Vashem to pay homage to the millions of Jewish people who, stripped of everything, especially of human dignity, were murdered in the Holocaust. More than half a century has passed, but the memories remain.

Here, as at Auschwitz and many other places in Europe, we are overcome by the echo of the heart-rending laments of so many. Men, women and children, cry out to us from the depths of the horror that they knew. How can we fail to heed their cry? No one can forget or ignore what happened. No one can diminish its scale.

We wish to remember. But we wish to remember for a purpose, namely to ensure that never again will evil prevail, as it did for the millions of innocent victims of Nazism.

How could man have such utter contempt for man? Because he had reached the point of contempt for God. Only a godless ideology could plan and carry out the extermination of a whole people.

The honor given to the `just Gentiles' by the state of Israel at Yad Vashem for having acted heroically to save Jews, sometimes to the point of giving their own lives, is a recognition that not even in the darkest hour is every light extinguished. That is why the Psalms and the entire Bible, though well aware of the human capacity for evil, also proclaims that evil will not have the last word.

Out of the depths of pain and sorrow, the believer's heart cries out: ``I trust in you, O Lord: 'I say, you are my God.''' (Psalms 31:14) Jews and Christians share an immense spiritual patrimony, flowing from God's self-revelation. Our religious teachings and our spiritual experience demand that we overcome evil with good. We remember, but not with any desire for vengeance or as an incentive to hatred. For us, to remember is to pray for peace and justice, and to commit ourselves to their cause. Only a world at peace, with justice for all, can avoid repeating the mistakes and terrible crimes of the past.

As bishop of Rome and successor of the Apostle Peter, I assure the Jewish people that the Catholic Church, motivated by the Gospel law of truth and love, and by no political considerations, is deeply saddened by the hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians at any time and in any place.

The church rejects racism in any form as a denial of the image of the Creator inherent in every human being.

In this place of solemn remembrance, I fervently pray that our sorrow for the tragedy which the Jewish people suffered in the 20th century will lead to a new relationship between Christians and Jews. Let us build a new future in which there will be no more anti-Jewish feeling among Christians or anti-Christian feeling among Jews, but rather the mutual respect required of those who adore the one Creator and Lord, and look to Abraham as our common father in faith.

The world must heed the warning that comes to us from the victims of the Holocaust, and from the testimony of the survivors. Here at Yad Vashem the memory lives on, and burns itself onto our souls. It makes us cry out: ``I hear the whispering of many - terror on every side - but I trust in you, O Lord: I say, 'You are my God.''' (Psalms 31:13-15)

Copyright ©2004 Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority