The Museum of Jewish Heritage’s “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away” exhibition is the most comprehensive of its kind ever presented, featuring over 700 original objects from Auschwitz and 400 photographs all never before seen in North America.
Artifacts among those on display include an original German-made Model 2 freight train, the type of deportation device used by Germany during the Holocaust. This exhibit also includes a barrack from Auschwitz III-Monowitz and more. It also features other never-before-seen objects.
The exhibit comes to New York City as anti-Semitic hate crimes are on the rise. In 2019, there has been a significant uptick in hate crimes targeting the Jewish community.
As recently as this week, an Ohio man was arrested for threatening to shoot up a Jewish community center. In New Jersey, a man is facing charges for possession of over 20 firearms, a ton of ammo, drugs and a box full of clothing and other memorabilia with white supremacist and neo-Nazi slogans.
The president himself is currently under fire this week for saying, “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
In a statement on the exhibit, New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney said, “In a world of skyrocketing rates of anti-Semitism, Holocaust education is critical.”
According to a CNN poll in Europe, one-third of respondents said that they knew a little or nothing about the Holocaust.
“We can never erase from our memory the knowledge that at least 6 million Jewish people were murdered. Six million. Many people are claiming, incredibly, that the Holocaust never happened. That is one reason why this exhibit is so important. All people, especially young people, must never forget what happened,” Barry Manilow said of the exhibit.
Maloney added: “We must fight to ensure that our nation understands the horrors of the Holocaust and the intolerance and bigotry that led to it. I hope people are able to grasp the reality of the Holocaust as they take in the stories of survivors, see photos, and examine items from Auschwitz. I want them to connect to all those who died at or survived Auschwitz, who lost loved ones there, who have family members who will never be the same because of the horrors they saw. I hope the ‘Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away’ exhibit motivates all of us to battle brutality, ethnic violence and religious intolerance of all kinds.”
The exhibit runs until Jan. 3, 2020. The Museum of Jewish Heritage reported more than 75,000 visitors have come to see it since its May opening.
To visit and purchase your tickets to “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away,” go to mjhnyc.org.
