Book Launch: A History of Melbourne’s Melbourne Holocaust Museum

The Interior of Our Memories analyses the development of the Centre within global Holocaust memorial activity, both during the genocide and in the following decades, when many survivors made new lives for themselves in Melbourne. The story begins, not in March 1984 when the MHM first opened its doors, but during the Holocaust, when survivors began gathering documents. The book provides a history of the Centre’s early days and examines its transformation from a collection of photos, documents and material objects into the modern, educationally focused organisation it is today.

Written by Deakin University academics Steven Cooke and Donna-Lee Frieze, this work also looks at the Centre from a wider perspective, exploring issues of memory, identity, testimony and the role of museums within contemporary society.

About the authors: Dr Steven Cooke is a cultural and historical geographer who has published widely on the memorial landscapes of war and genocide. He is Senior Lecturer and Course Director of the Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies Programs at Deakin University. He is the author of The Sweetland Project: Remembering Gallipoli in the Shire of Nunawading (Australian Scholarly, 2015).

Dr Donna-Lee Frieze is a genocide studies scholar who taught the Genocide and Holocaust units at Deakin University. She has published widely on twentieth century genocides, film, philosophy and testimony. She is the editor and transcriber of Raphael Lemkin’s autobiography, Totally Unofficial (Yale University Press, 2013).

All proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.