On the opening day of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, founding chairman and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, “The museum is not meant to be an answer. It's meant to be a question.”
Museum director Sara Bloomfield says that’s the starting place for the new “Never Stop Asking Why” digital campaign, launched to mark the 25th anniversary of the institution by engaging new generations on the lessons of the Holocaust.
“Why did the Holocaust happen? What made it possible? How could it have been different? What does it mean for me today?” she said.
As part of this new global initiative, people can ask questions that Holocaust history raises on social media -- with the hashtag #AskWhy. People can enter ideas on the museum’s website, where curated content will be posted.
“There will be questions and videos from museum visitors, from Holocaust survivors, from people like Ray Allen, the former NBA star, and Colin Powell, former secretary of state,” Bloomfield said.
The museum’s mission is to remind people that the unthinkable is always possible, according to Bloomfield.
“To make people think critically about their own role in society for making the future different than the past,” she said.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s 25th Anniversary South Florida ‘What You Do Matters’ Dinner takes place Tuesday evening at the Boca West Country Club.
Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg war crimes prosecutor and a 97-year-old Delray Beach resident, will serve as the dinner’s keynote speaker.
