Florida Holocaust Museum president and CEO Eric Stillman believes education is more relevant than ever in an era of distortion and denial.
More than 75 years on, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an opportunity to reflect. Selecting Jan. 27 for the occasion was not by coincidence. The Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated in 1945 on the same date.
“Unfortunately, there are people who seem to have either forgotten the lessons of the Holocaust,” Stillman explained, “or maybe they never learned those lessons.”
An accurate and accessible historical account is essential. The museum relies on testimonies, artifacts and documentation to inform visitors, he added. It also offers resources and training for teachers.
This can help people better navigate ethical dilemmas in the workplace, at school or at home. More importantly, Stillman said, it may be able to help prevent “future atrocities and genocides.”
Admission to the museum will be free Jan. 27. Additionally, a variety of public programs are scheduled for the week.
Dr. Kathrin Meyer, the former secretary general of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, will be giving a presentation on holocaust distortion Jan. 29. Tickets are available at this link.
Stillman, who took over leadership last June, oversaw the reopening of the institution after an extensive renovation. It began to welcome guests again in September.
“History, Heritage and Hope,” the museum’s core exhibition, received a major redesign. It now features Thor, the Danish fishing boat that was used to rescue more than 7,000 Jewish people in 1943.
Additionally, the building has a new entrance with expanded security features and an open-air second-story balcony. More projects are in the works.
The Florida Holocaust Museum is home to the Elie Wiesel collection, which includes the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s personal papers and artifacts. It was selected by his family in 2024.
Wiesel wrote over 50 books including the memoir Night, which described his experiences at the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
“We are in the process of cataloging the items and digitizing them and then we will be building out an exhibit called the Wiesel Experience on the third floor,” Stillman said. “It will allow people to engage with Elie Wiesel and his artifacts in ways that have never been possible before.”
An opening date has not yet been announced. The organization is also creating a traveling exhibition of Wiesel collection items for other Holocaust museums in the U.S.
Additionally, Stillman and his team are building an immersive theater for the Dimensions in Testimony experience. The exhibit, which allows visitors to interact with survivors through pre-recorded videos, opened in a temporary space in 2021.
The institution’s off-site facility for cataloging, preservation, research and storage is in the process of being upgraded as well.
“I think the future is very bright,” he said. “I believe that, particularly because of the Wiesel Experience, we are going to be drawing visitors not just nationally but internationally.”
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