Montreal Holocaust Museum
45°29′20.8″N 73°38′11.3″W / 45.489111°N 73.636472°W
Established | 1979 |
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Location | 5151, chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3W 1M6 |
Type | Holocaust history museum |
Website | www.mhmc.ca |
The Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre (MHMC) is a museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dedicated to Holocaust education and awareness. It was founded in 1979 by a group of Holocaust survivors and facilitated by the philanthropy of Steven Cummings. The Centre's mandate is to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the genocidal murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933-1945.
By raising Holocaust awareness the MHMC aims to alert the public to the dangers of anti-semitism, bigotry and hate, while promoting respect for diversity and the sanctity of all human life.
The centre was inaugurated in July 2003 and is the first major Holocaust museum in Canada. It also highlights the role of Montreal, a city that is home to the third largest Holocaust survivor population in the world. The museum tells the story of the Shoah through the eyes, the voices and the possessions of those few who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, and who made a new home in the city.
Collection
The Montreal Holocaust Museum features over 418 original artifacts, 372 photographs, and 20 films. It encourages visitors to take ownership of the absolute responsibility to fight intolerance in all its forms.
Program
In addition to attracting over 15,000 people a year to its museum, the MHMC offers a variety of educational and commemorative programs that aim to educate and inspire the public about moral responsibility and human rights. Programs include the annual Holocaust Education Series, the Witness to History Program, the Holocaust Survivor's Speakers Committee, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah of Remembrance Program, and annual Yom Hashoah and Kristallnacht Commemorations.
Affiliations
The museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada. The MHMC is a constituent agency of Federation CJA. The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service (AHMS) has supported the MHMC since 1998 by sending Gedenkdiener – interns from Austria. The Gedenkdiener - interns have worked out a specific area of activity for themselves in the past years and are now an important part of the team of the MHMC.[citation needed] A list of all interns can be found on the website of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service.