Front view of the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre |
The Holocaust Memorial Centre was founded in 1979 by a group of Holocaust survivors and facilitated by Steven Cummings. The mandate of the museum is to educate people of all ages about the murder of six million Jews between 1933 and 1945. The Montreal Holocaust Museum features over 418 original artifacts, 372 photographs, and 20 films. It encourages visitors to take ownership of the absolute responsibility to fight intolerance in all its forms.
A section of the museum's permanent exhibition |
My tasks at the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre will be to sit at the front desk and to receive visitors, I will have to answer calls and I will give tours. Some of my other responsibilities will be related to computer work such as: creating a layout for ads, technical support and to keep the website up-to-date. I will also work on annual projects such as: the Witness to History Program, the Holocaust Survivor's Speakers Committee, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah of Remembrance Program and the Yom Hashoah and Kristallnacht Commemorations.
I would like to work at the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre because I believe that I can contribute at least something that people do not forget the Second World War and the persecution of Jews. The MHMC is probably the one of the best places to do this. Montreal is the city with the third largest Holocaust survivor population and it still has a huge Jewish community. I am really lucky to get the chance to work there and to meet interesting people. The Second World War happened 60 to 70 years ago and survivors from that time are getting older and older, so I will be one of the few Austrians who get the chance to talk to them.