30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 227
TOUCHING THE
HUMAN SPIRIT
We’ve been involved
in education our
entire lives. The
Holocaust was such
an enormous, incredibly complex,
and all-encompassing experience
that we can’t afford to lose or neglect
what has been learned from it. A
terrible evil is something that needs
to be memorialized in order to help
us understand it—and to do better.
That’s why the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum
is essential as an institution that
addresses moral education, not just
facts or theories. If we do not learn
from the past, we can’t be good
citizens or make good decisions.
A critical understanding is that
these things actually happened to
real people. We have lost our own
relatives in the Holocaust, and
Monty and his sister have donated
archival materials from his parents.
a variety of places, institutions,
and people with a connection and
a commitment to maintaining this
history. Going to school, synagogue,
or church is not enough. Universities
and government institutions are
not enough. People are extremely
complex, so we need multiple
ways to touch the human spirit.
Sometimes an individual who isn’t
affected by other types of institutions
will learn something here that
changes everything for him or her.
As society, people, and technology
change over time, the kinds of
exhibits and the ways the messages
are presented will also need to
evolve to remain relevant. We feel it
is essential that the Museum’s work
continue at the same high level, and
it is our responsibility to support it
well into the future.”
The Holocaust is an important part
of the American experience. Having
a secular institution to remember
it is good for us, because we need
SAFEGUARDING TRUTH FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS l 225
