The FHM highlights the individual stories of 25 Holocaust Survivors
April 25, 2017 [St. Petersburg, FL] – The Florida Holocaust Museum (The FHM) has recently partnered with Eckerd College to release a 25th Anniversary oral history series titled “25 Survivors, 25 Stories… Celebrating 25 Years!”
Over the next 25 months, the Museum’s oral history series will feature a different Holocaust Survivor on the 25th of every month. Each Survivor brings to the series an individual voice that enlivens our understanding of the Holocaust; the war’s effects on individuals, families, and communities dispersed across the world; and its reverberations into the present moment.
The second story was released this morning and features Holocaust Survivor Mary Wygodski. An excerpt from the piece is as follows:
Mary’s life was uprooted in 1943 when she was separated from her mother, father, brother, and two younger sisters at the moment of their deportation from the Vilna ghetto.
“They separated me from my family at this time and that was the greatest tragedy for me,” she said. Only later did she discover that her brother and father were taken to a concentration camp in Klooga, Estonia, where they were killed.
Mary was interned in three different labor camps during the war: first the Kaiserwald concentration camp near Riga, Latvia, then the Stutthof concentration camp, in what is now northern Poland, and finally the Magdeburg-Polte labor camp in Germany, where she was liberated by the U.S. Army on April 18, 1945.
Without her family, life seemed impossible. “I couldn’t be without my parents. I couldn’t live,” she recalls, “I said, I cannot go on like that.”
In the coming months, The FHM will present numerous 25th Anniversary celebratory programs, events, and exhibitions, along with its daily educational and outreach efforts.
May 4- The FHM is pleased to present its newest exhibition Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945. Presented by Wells Fargo, this exhibition examines the Nazi regime’s attempt to eradicate homosexuality, which left thousands dead and shattered the lives of many more. The exhibition opening event will take place on Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. and is free to members of The FHM and $9 per person for general admission. The Pardoll Family Lecture Series opening reception will include a lecture by Erik Jensen, a specialist in the history of Germany and of gender and sexuality. Please RSVP by calling 727.820.0100, extension 301.
To learn more about The FHM’s upcoming 25th Anniversary events and exhibitions, visit the Museum online at www.TheFHM.org/25th.
The Florida Holocaust Museum is located at 55 5th Street S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
About The Florida Holocaust Museum
2017 marks a monumental milestone for The Florida Holocaust Museum (The FHM) as the Museum celebrates its 25th Anniversary. One of the largest Holocaust museums in the country, and one of three nationally accredited Holocaust museums, The FHM honors the memory of millions of men, women and children who suffered of died in the Holocaust. The FHM is dedicated to teaching members of all races and cultures the inherent worth and dignity of human life in order to prevent future genocides. For additional information, please visit www.TheFHM.org.