Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center — Attraction in Tucson

I discovered the Holocaust History Center of Tucson in 2016, in the framework of a photographic mission conducted on behalf of its architect, SBBL Architecture & Planning. As a photographer, I became intimately connected with all aspects of the HHC: the architecture of course, but also the exhibits, the flow of the Center, its visitors and its mission.

Contrary to most museums dedicated to the Shoah, the HHC is not showing many photos or artefacts of the extermination camps. There are some photos, of course. But the mission assigned to the HHC by the families who funded its construction was to educate visitors - especially children and students - in the root causes of the Holocaust.

How did it become possible that an entire population, at the pinnacle of European culture, be so brainwashed, so de-humanized that they would actively or passively participate in the horribly systematic and inhumane enterprise that we know as the Holocaust?

The HHC offers a step-by-step journey into the propaganda mechanisms that led in just a few short years to the indescribable tragedy. Survivors explain on video what it was like to be engulfed in it and live through it.

In the end, the HHC does not just deliver a crash course in human psychology, politics and history: it is rather the very humane legacy of those who survived and their families, their intent to communicate that they forgave the perpetrators, but that our generation and the generations to come must stay alert to the appearance of the harbingers of fascism, nazism, ostracism and other ideologies aimed at de-humanizing other human beings with the intent to allow their total destruction in a sea of indifference or with the active participation of the population.

"So that it may never...

This is a great museum well deserving if your time. The synagogue itself is representative of the history of Tucson's Jewish community as well as the Jewish community in Southern Arizona (and even the AmericanSouthwest). It also includes a nod to music by Jewish performers and those influenced by Jewish culture. It's a treasure, to be sure but the real star of the show is the Holocaust museum. This is not your boring old didactic program. This exhibit takes there and makes connections to people who lived it as well as drawing parallels to today's fraught political landscape. We were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves for over two hours and had an amazing tour and subsequent conversation with Lori Shepherd the current Executive Director. Lori herself was an amazing educator. As a member of the Jewish community myself I found this gem of a museum to be touching and moving (and I may have found a relative). Do go if you get the chance. And...

My experience at the Museum was very informative and I wish I had more time to listen more. The Holocaust was an important time in History and I pray it doesn't get forgotten. I never knew that Tucson had so many Jews and one even started the UofA. I hope that the younger generation continues to keep this part of history alive and that it really happened. I also enjoyed how the museum how they are putting an emphasis on the Holocaust is just a small part of History in the world we live in and that there were other genocides Rhawada,Cambodia, North Korea etc. I would highly recommend everyone to go and not every City can say they have their own Museum for this...