The National Holocaust Centre and Museum is an award-winning museum right on the doorstep in Laxton. The founders are the remarkable Smith family, the only non-Jewish founders of any such place in the UK. There are two permanent museum exhibitions, stunning sculpture and memorial rose gardens and sector-leading interactive museum and online experiences. The Centre welcomes members of the public and school groups to learn about the roots of prejudice and discrimination and what we can do to be upstanders in society today. At its heart is a family of Holocaust survivors whose testimonies and artefacts form a significant national collection, ensuring their voices are heard for generations to come.
On Holocaust Memorial Day, survivors Simon Winston BEM and Ruth Schwiening were joined by pupils from Nottingham Girls High School. They read extracts from the Stockholm Declaration, which led to the creation in 2000 of Holocaust Memorial Day. Kingsway Primary School then took part in a learning session inside The Journey exhibition and a tree-planting ceremony in the memorial gardens – part of ‘80 Trees for 80 Years’ by the Association of Jewish Refugees, who also provided a time capsule for one of the Kingsway children to bury next to the oak tree.
Be assured of a warm welcome whether you wish to visit the exhibitions or if you just want to spend some time in the beautiful memorial gardens and homely coffee shop. The Centre is open Sunday to Friday from 10.00am until 4.30pm. Please be advised The Journey exhibition opens from 2.30pm during term time to allow for school visits, and the coffee shop is open from 11.00am to 3.00pm. For further information please visit www.holocaust.org.uk or phone 01623 836627.