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We invite you to join us for the commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on Monday 29 January 2024.
This year we will be hosting a panel discussion on the importance of democracy.
Moderated by MHM Head of Exhibitions & Programming Dr Breann Fallon, the panel discussion will see three expert panelists explore the importance of democracy through the lens of their unique experiences – both lived and professional – to better understand the fragility of our freedom.
The event will also feature an address from guest speaker and Holocaust survivor Nina Bassat AM.
Artwork | Detail from Evidence of Evil, 1993/2022, a graphic light installation created by Stih & Schnock for the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, representing a selection of antisemitic laws and decrees passed by the Nazi regime between 1933-1945.
Nina was born on 8 April 1939 in Lwów, Poland. Nina and her mother survived the Holocaust and came to Australia in 1949 as refugees after two years in a displaced person’s camp in Germany. They settled in Melbourne. Nina studied arts and law at the University of Melbourne, and served as president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and as president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Image | The Australian website
Daniel is a senior lecturer in East European Jewish History at Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation. His areas of research specialisation are East European Jewish history, the history of humanitarian aid and international development, and the history of Zionism and modern Israel.
Image | Stanford University website.
Nyadol was born in a refugee camp in Itang, Ethiopia, raised in several refugee camps and separated from her mother at a very young age before moving to Australia at the age of 18. Nyadol has completed a Bachelor of Arts at Victoria University and her Juris Doctor at the University of Melbourne. Nyadol is a vocal advocate for human rights, focusing on legal reform, social justice, and multiculturalism.
Image | Victoria University website.
Kylie is an Australian political scientist specialising in Islam and the Middle East. Kylie speaks several Middle Eastern languages and has spent significant periods travelling and conducting academic research in the region. In 2018 she was wrongfully detained during a research trip to Iran, and served more than two years of a ten-year sentence before being freed in November 2020 in a prisoner exchange deal.
Kylie is the author of the bestselling 2022 memoir ‘The Uncaged Sky’
Image | Speaking out website
The Melbourne Holocaust Museum’s Holckner Family Bnei Mitzvah program is a ninety-minutes workshop designed to connect those undergoing their Bnei Mitzvah to the Holocaust in a meaningful way. The program will allow participants to engage with the experiences of Holocaust survivors, to be inspired by their resilience and the kindness of strangers, as well as to reflect on the significance of their Bnei Mitzvah and what being Jewish means to them.
Parents/guardians do not need to stay for the duration of the program.
Join us at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum for our annual Betty & Shmuel Rosenkranz Oration.
This year we are pleased to announce our oration will be presented by Karel Fracapane – Leader of hate speech issues within the Division for Peace and Sustainable Development arm within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
On 9 November, Karel will address the topic ‘Combatting Hate Speech in the Digital Age.’
Karel has dedicated his professional life to combatting antisemitism and racism, to Holocaust remembrance and the prevention of genocide, and violent extremism.
In 2018 Karel pioneered a program aimed at combatting antisemitism worldwide. This program, in partnership with European human rights bodies, saw Karel and his team create a suite of capacity-building activities and resources for educational authorities globally.
To watch this event online please click here
Please join us for our 2023 oration: Combating hate speech in the digital age.
This year we are pleased to announce our Betty & Shmuel Rosenkranz Oration will be presented by Karel Fracapane – Leader of hate speech issues within the Division for Peace and Sustainable Development arm within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Karel has dedicated his professional life to combatting antisemitism and racism, Holocaust remembrance and the prevention of genocide, and violent extremism. Currently, he is focused on global citizenship issues, including hate speech, post-Holocaust issues and addressing contemporary forms of antisemitism.
Please register in advance and secure a place.
Please join us a Q & A with Karel Kracapane and Dr Breann Fallon.
This event is partnered with LaunchPad and AUJS.
LaunchPad is a flagship program of Australian Jewish Funders. LaunchPad’s mission is to inspire change-makers to connect, think, create and lead – activating positive impact and innovation in Australia and beyond. Driven by Jewish values and a collaborative mindset, we are the network creating opportunities for leadership, activism and collaboration. Programming includes LaunchPad Leadership, Launchad Co-Labs, LaunchPad Retreat, as well as the LaunchPad Hub, Australia’s first Jewish co-working space located in Richmond, Victoria.
Karel Fracapane
Leader of hate speech issues within the Division for Peace and Sustainable Development arm within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Karel has dedicated his professional life to combatting antisemitism and racism, Holocaust remembrance and the prevention of genocide, and violent extremism. Currently, he is focused on global citizenship issues, including hate speech, post-Holocaust issues and addressing contemporary forms of antisemitism.
Head of Exhibitions and Programming
Breann has been working in the cultural sectors, educating on the Holocaust and other human rights issues since 2013. The granddaughter of non-Jewish survivors of Nazi persecution, Breann is focused on ensuring we communicate the past to ensure a better present and future for all.
Breann also works to spread awareness of human rights issues across multiple platforms. She served on the 2023 Federal Senate Advisory Panel into the Banning of Nazi Symbols, is the host of the 2022 documentary Trafficked to Australia and is a presenter for ABC Radio National’s Religion and Ethics Unit.
Photo taken by Simon Shiff.
The Australian Society of Polish Jews & Their Descendants present a Special Film Screening of “Polmission: Passports’ Secrets” in the presence of His Excellency, Mr Maciej Chmielinski, Ambassador of Poland.
The documentary tells the story of Polish diplomats and their efforts to save Jews during WWII. The film attempts to unravel the complicated mechanisms behind the activities of Polish diplomacy and intelligence, which, in cooperation with governments and institutions of other countries, contributed to saving Jews from all over occupied Europe. As part of this operation, it was possible to save about 3,000 Jews from extermination by issuing false passports of South American countries including Paraguay. Jacek Papis’s film presents conversations with the survivors and their family members.
The film further includes commentaries and opinions presented by historians trying to solve some of the mysteries connected with the passports.
Image | ‘Polmission: Passports’ Secrets’ film cover
Please join Rachelle Unreich for the book launch of A Brilliant Life at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
The powerful true story of a Holocaust survivor told by her daughter – a tale that reminds us of the resilience of the soul and the ability of the heart to heal.
A mother and daughter.
Love. Loss. Wonder.
The story of a brilliant life.
A Brilliant Life will be available for purchase at the event.
Please note due to capacity limit we have stopped sales, therefore please register your interest for an additional event which potentially be held early next year.
Melbourne Holocaust Museum is excited to host a panel discussion: How to Talk About the Holocaust with Children.
We welcome acclaimed author Morris Gleitzman, Dr Shalya Hirschson a child psychologist and MHM Pedagogy Specialist Lisa Phillips, for an informative conversation moderated by MHM Manager of Adult Education Dr Simon Holloway.
Morris Gleitzman is a bestselling Australian children’s author. His books explore serious and sometimes confronting subjects in humourous and unexpected ways. His titles include Two Weeks With The Queen, Grace, Doubting Thomas, Bumface, Give Peas A Chance, Extra Time, Loyal Creatures, Digging Up Dad and the series Once, Then, After, Soon, Maybe, Now and Always. Morris lives in Sydney and Brisbane, and his books are published in more than twenty countries.
Dr Shalya Hirschson is a psychologist who runs her own private practice in Melbourne.She holds a Doctorate (PhD) and a master’s degree in educational psychology and provides counselling and
assessment to children, adolescents, and adults. Shalya’s special fields of interest include parenting support, social skills, childhood trauma, depression, anxiety, grief, loss, ASD, ADHD, school refusal, learning difficulties and the impact of medical conditions on psychological well-being.Shalya also works with adults experiencing relationship difficulties, life adjustments, grief, anxiety and depression,attachment difficulties and medical conditions.
Image |Jarrod Freedman
The Melbourne Holocaust Museum invites you to join us for a panel discussion about studying the Holocaust at a tertiary level.
Perhaps the most studied subject in the humanities today, the Holocaust continues to attract students all over the world. What is it about this subject that inspires so many young researchers and what are the different destinations to which their studies take them? In this panel discussion, chaired by David Slucki from Monash University, we will encounter the research of four different university students and graduates. In addition to exploring their respective motivations, this is also an opportunity to find out what their experiences studying the Holocaust have been like, and any important discoveries that they made along the way.
Dr Sam Bennett finished a PhD at the University of Bristol in 2005 looking at the experiences of Holocaust survivors integrating into new lives in New York City in the immediate post-war period. Sam previously led the National Disability Insurance Agency’s Policy and Research Division, and has recently started in a new role leading the Grattan Institute’s Disability Program. He lives in Bayside in Melbourne with his wife Sarah (who works at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum) and their two children Ava and Woody.
Margot Holt completed her master’s dissertation at Monash University in 2021 which examined audiovisual testimonies of female Holocaust witnesses who recount their experiences of sexual violence. She is particularly interested in how memories of such experiences form over time, as well as the ways in which witnesses communicate their recollections. Margot plans to undertake a PhD in which she will focus on audiovisual testimonies of former hidden children.
Janine Schloss is a PhD candidate in Jewish Cultural Practice at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University. She is currently researching the German Jewish refugees of Eswatini (Swaziland) through the prism of third-generation Holocaust narrative. Janine is also a Program Manager at Melbourne Jewish Book Week.
Laura Garland is a human rights lawyer, with fifteen years’ experience working with and for indigenous communities. Laura Garland is a PhD Candidate at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University, where she is developing a trauma-informed training program for human rights lawyers on compassionate witnessing, specifically for working with collective trauma. Her research and creative non-fiction writing draws on both her professional experience and her family story of Holocaust survival, in an exploration of collective healing.
Please join us at Melbourne Holocaust Museum for an exclusive performance featuring Lior & Dr Lou Bennet AM (vocals), The Australian String Quartet, and Andrea Lam (piano).
This event is for the FutureGen community. FutureGen is a new generation of Jewish community members committed to the preservation of Holocaust history and Holocaust education
‘Ngapa William Cooper’ was inspired by the actions of First Nations activist William Cooper in response the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime on Kristallnacht.
‘Ngapa William Cooper’ is a collaborative creation by renowned composer Nigel Westlake, Lior and Lou Bennett, honouring Cooper’s courage when most were silent.
We are extremely proud to host superb Australian artists at the museum, honouring Indigenous and Jewish lives, in harmony as it should be.
Part of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Magen David Adom in support of Israel.
This event is supported by The Humanity Foundation.
Please join us at Melbourne Holocaust Museum for an exclusive performance featuring Lior & Dr Lou Bennet AM (vocals), The Australian String Quartet, and Andrea Lam (piano).
This event is for our volunteers and senior community.
‘Ngapa William Cooper’ was inspired by the actions of First Nations activist William Cooper in response the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime on Kristallnacht.
‘Ngapa William Cooper’ is a collaborative creation by renowned composer Nigel Westlake, Lior and Lou Bennett, honouring Cooper’s courage when most were silent.
We are extremely proud to host superb Australian artists at the museum, honouring Indigenous and Jewish lives, in harmony as it should be.
Part of the proceeds will be donated to Magen David Adom in support of Israel.
This event is supported by The Humanity Foundation.
Please join us for our nine-week Holocaust Education Course.
This course, running over a series of consecutive weeks, spans the history of the Holocaust from the 19th century through to the liberation of the camps and return to life. Each evening will run from 7-9pm with coffee and tea provided.
The course will be facilitated by MHM Manager of Adult Education Dr Simon Holloway and Co-President Sue Hampel OAM, with each evening dedicated to a particular theme.
Dates and topics are as follows:
Week 1: The World that Was (Thursday, 12 October)
Week 2: From the Cross to the Swastika (Thursday, 19 October)
Week 3: The Rise and Fall of German and Austrian Jewry (Thursday, 26 October)
Week 4: The Concentration Camp Universe (Thursday, 2 November)
Week 5: No session (Rosenkranz Oration at MHM)
Week 6: Death and Life in the Nazi Ghettos ( Thursday, 16 November)
Week 7: Life Unworthy of Life: The Origins of the Final Solution (Thursday, 23 November)
Week 8: By Any Means Available: Jewish Resistance (Thursday, 30 November)
Week 9: A Survey of Non-Jewish Responses to the Holocaust ( Tuesday, 5 December)
Week 9: Liberation and Return to Life (Thursday, 7 December)
If you have any further questions about the course, please contact simon.holloway@mhm.org.au for further information.
Please register in advance and secure a place.
Image | Prisoners head south on a Death March from Dachau concentration camp; Gruenwald, Germany, 29 April, 1945. Courtesy of Yad Vashem.
Please join Freda Hodge and acclaimed scholar Professor Emeritus Paul Bartrop for the book launch of Survival and Sanctuary: Testimonies of the Holocaust and Life Beyond, at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM).
Translated into English for the first time, Survival and Sanctuary provides a window into the experiences of survivors through seven testimonies. The book is an exploration of the tension between hope and despair in the aftermath of war, and ultimately a demonstration of the power of the human will.
Come along to this event, to hear about the process of creating this detailed account from from translator Freda Hodge and launcher Paul Bartrop.
Published by Monash University Publishing Survival and Sanctuary will be available for purchase at the event.
Freda Hodge is a translator who holds degrees in English, Linguistics and Jewish Studies, and has taught at universities and colleges in South Africa and Australia. Fluent in Yiddish and Hebrew, she worked at the MHM conducting interviews with survivors and families. Her previous book is Tragedy and Trauma: Early Testimonies of Jewish Survivors of World War II.
Paul Bartrop is a multi-award-winning scholar of the Holocaust and genocide. Until December 2020 he was Professor of History and Director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Research at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, where he is now Professor Emeritus of History. He is also a Principal Fellow in History at the University of Melbourne. Across a varied career, he has held numerous other positions including as Visiting Professorial Fellow at the University of New South Wales Canberra, and as Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies at Stockton University, New Jersey. He also taught for several years at the University of South Australia, at Magill and Underdale. In 2022 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in the United Kingdom. He is a former Vice-President of the Midwest Jewish Studies Association in the United States and is a Past President of the Australian Association of Jewish Studies.
Freda Hodge is a translator who holds degrees in English, Linguistics and Jewish Studies, and has taught at universities and colleges in South Africa and Australia. Fluent in Yiddish and Hebrew, she worked at the MHM conducting interviews with survivors and families. Her previous book is Tragedy and Trauma: Early Testimonies of Jewish Survivors of World War II.
Paul Bartrop is a multi-award-winning scholar of the Holocaust and genocide. Until December 2020 he was Professor of History and Director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Research at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, where he is now Professor Emeritus of History. He is also a Principal Fellow in History at the University of Melbourne. Across a varied career, he has held numerous other positions including as Visiting Professorial Fellow at the University of New South Wales Canberra, and as Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies at Stockton University, New Jersey. He also taught for several years at the University of South Australia, at Magill and Underdale. In 2022 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in the United Kingdom. He is a former Vice-President of the Midwest Jewish Studies Association in the United States and is a Past President of the Australian Association of Jewish Studies.
Please join us at Melbourne Holocaust Museum to our Bialystok Holocaust Commemoration, to mark the Uprising and liquidation of the Bialystok ghetto.
All community members, survivors, those of second, third or fourth generation, and friends of survivors are invited to share in commemorating those whose lives, community and homes were lost, those who lost loved ones and family, the city of Bialystok destroyed, the bravery and courage of our uprising. We want to also join in acknowledging all survivors who lived through the blackest days, and the cuturally rich tapestry of the Jewish Community who lived in and around Bialystok.
At this special commemoration we will hear testimony from Bialystok child survivor Helen Granek, who as a child of 9 years was interred in the Bialystok ghetto at the time of the uprising.
For more information please contact Sefra Burstin on 0419521005.
Please join the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, for a special film-screening event.
Displaced is a devastatingly honest 90-minute film which explores the complexity of Jewish life in Germany today. The film’s director, Sharon Ryba-Kahn, is a German-born granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. Her father, who was always emotionally distant, reconnected with her suddenly after a seven-year silence. Their conversation became the impetus for Sharon to confront her past: to explore her relationship with an absent father, to investigate the nature of her own inherited trauma and to probe beneath the surface of her German friendships. The result of Sharon’s investigation is Displaced.
Following the screening, MHM Manager of Adult Education Dr Simon Holloway will speak with Sharon about the film and take questions from the audience.
This event is held in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.
Join the Melbourne Holocaust Museum and the Lodz Committee in commemoration of the 79th anniversary of the liquidation of the Lodz Ghetto.
The Landsmanshaftn were societies of Jewish immigrants who came from the same town or region in Eastern Europe. They were named for the members’ original birthplaces. They were formed to assist their fellow ‘townspeople’ in settling into their new lives in Australia. This assistance – material, emotional, cultural, and social – helped many new arrivals to begin their acclimatisation to life in their new country.
By 1949, numerous attempts had been made to form a Lodzer Landsmanshaft. In 1953 an initiating committee was formed with the aim of calling a general meeting of Melbourne Jews from the Polish city of Lodz and organising an evening to commemorate the memory of their annihilated community.
Today’s Lodz Committee consists of second and third generation descendants. As the years pass by and we have fewer of our precious survivors with us, we realise the importance of involving the younger generations in helping us remember the Lodzers who called Melbourne their home. Today we remember and honour Jewish Lodz, and its inhabitants, the last embers of a once glorious and vibrant community.
This year’s program includes honouring six of our Lodz Ghetto survivors with a special candle lighting ceremony; recounts of Lodz family artefacts by Mary, David and Lee Slade and Dr Eli Kotler; music by Elliot Freeman.
Join MHM Co-President Sue Hampel OAM for a lecture on The Nuremberg Trials.
The Nuremberg Trials set an important precedent in international law, while the Eichmann trial brought Nazi atrocities to a global audience and put Holocaust survivors at centre stage.
A number of the defendants were executed, others faced prison sentences of varying lengths, and some perpetrators were acquitted.
Was justice served at Nuremberg and Jerusalem? Is justice ever possible? This lecture will explore the significance of these two trials in the light of these questions and will examine the very nature of justice and judgement after the Holocaust.
Image | View of the defendants in the dock at the International Military Tribunal trial of war criminals at Nuremberg. Courtesy of USHMM and the National Archives and Records Administration.
