Museum of the unimaginable in a place you wouldn’t imagine
Neil Silver takes time out of shopping and dining on his Florida holiday, to teach his children an important lesson about the Shoah
You might question my idea of “fun” when I’m on holiday, but nothing beats taking my kids to visit a Holocaust museum wherever I am in the world.
It’s been easy to enrich my children’s education in big cities such as New York, Washington and San Francisco, so I was very pleasantly surprised on my recent trip to Naples, Florida, to discover that the Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center was about to re-open in a new location.
From renting a space of about 4,500 square feet in a shopping plaza, the museum has moved five miles after buying it’s own space of 6,000 square feet.
The UK could take a leaf out of the Americans’ book as the state of Florida requires teaching about the Holocaust in schools, so the museum expects to attract more than 15,000 visitors a year.
Curator, Cody Rademacher, told me: “Students in fifth, eighth and tenth grade either come to our museum or take part in a programme that is appropriate to their age.
“Our Jewish population is not as well-known as, say, Boca Raton, but we have a moderately sized community which is very supportive, including a number of survivors living in Naples who have donated artefacts.
“They want to reach the younger generations and help to teach the lessons of the Holocaust and inspire actions against bigotry and hatred in society.
“If you do not understand the ripple effects of the Holocaust it can be very costly for society and the world as a whole. We aim to use the lessons learned from the Holocaust to recognise what is going on in today’s society and hopefully prevent another genocide.”
The first thing that hits you when you walk into the museum is an amazing mural of diarist Anne Frank. The pictures which help make it up include local Holocaust survivors.
You then snake your way through three permanent galleries and a fourth gallery with temporary rotating exhibits – the current one telling the story of Holodomor, a Ukrainian genocide which was a famine carried out by the Russians.
One of the exhibits which made the most impact on me was a map of Europe at the time which detailed the Jewish populations, which showed that approximately 12 million people were murdered – half of them Jewish.
There was also a memorable “survivors” exhibit.
Of course, Naples has many other far less serious attractions, and the best way to see these is by taking the signature vintage trolley tour. This gives a great overview of the area and allows you to decide which places – such as the beaches – you want to return to at your leisure for a longer visit.
You are also spoiled for choice when it comes to restaurants, and I can offer two recommendations.
D’Amico’s The Continental is fine dining, and I can recommend the Tomahawk steak – if you have someone to share it with. Or if you fancy fish, then check out USS Nemo where the signature dish of broiled sea bass is also delicious.
After spending a few days in Naples I drove my kids up to Orlando to enjoy the many attractions on offer – proving that I really am a “fun” dad after all!
Neil’s recommendations
- https://www.holocaustmuseumswfl.org/?main
- https://www.naplestrolleytours.com/
- https://damicoscontinental.com/
- https://ussnemorestaurant.com/
- https://www.ilovemeetandgreet.co.uk/
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
