Following extensive relocation and development work, the new Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) will be opening in Detroit, USA, in October 2003.
Situated 10 miles from the old site on Orchard Lake Road in Detroit, the new HMC will have a tripartite structure with double the exhibition space of the old Center, a library seven times larger than the old site and a new 400-seat auditorium.
The new campus will also include two new features – a Museum of European Jewish Heritage and the International Institute of the Righteous, which aims to publicise “quiet deeds of valour” throughout history.
Center director, Rabbi Charles H Rosenzveig said: “By reawakening interest and understanding of our rich history and valuable contributions to human society, we can leave a legacy of which our community can be proud.”
Two British companies are involved in the project; HKD will be designing some of the exhibitions and audio visual team, Newangle, will be creating12 audio visual exhibits for Center. Produced by Simon Rice-Oxley, the Newangle programmes will focus on the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the progress of war and the horror of concentration camp experiences.
Newangle will begin work next week, filming at two Polish concentration camps and will also be utilising the extensive aural history archive of the HMC alongside UK and US footage of the 1945 camp liberations.
The HMC first opened in Detroit in October 1984 and was one of the first centres of its kind, taking nearly 20 years of grassroots fundraising before it could be built. It is now one of 16 independent Holocaust centres currently open in the US alone, which includes the world-famous Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
Having attracted in excess of one million visitors to date, the HMC’s work is reliant almost entirely upon donations and contributions and remains dedicated to both the preservation of the history of Jewish culture, society and religion and to record the terror of the Nazi Holocaust. Details: [email protected] / www.newangle.co.uk / www.hkd.uk.com
