The capital campaign to fund the establishment of the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Steiner Education Centre was launched on Sunday 25 March, 2018 at the Fullarton Park Community Centre, 411 Fullarton Rd, Fullarton, South Australia.
Andrew Steiner OAM, Holocaust survivor and Holocaust educator in South Australian schools for 26 years, established the ‘Remember the Holocaust Compassion for All Foundation’ in 2015 with a goal of developing a Holocaust Museum and Education Centre in Adelaide. The foundation is a not for profit organisation with charitable status.
The museum and education centre will be housed in the historic Fennescey House at 31-33 Wakefield Street Adelaide, offered in-kind by the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide and will consist of a permanent Holocaust exhibition, a Survivors Gallery with stories and portraits of local South Australian and Australian survivors and a Remembrance Gallery that will focus on themes drawn from the Holocaust as they relate to contemporary issues. The museum will offer Holocaust education and remembrance for future generations and commemorate the six million Jews and other innocent victims murdered by the Nazi’s between 1933 and 1945.
To launch the capital campaign, the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Steiner Education Centre Trustees are thrilled to announce that Gandel Foundation has generously pledged to match all donations, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000 in support of the fundraising campaign. This significant leading pledge comes from one of Australia’s largest independent family philanthropic funds based in Melbourne. The broader community, businesses and individuals can help raise the matching funds that will enable the establishment of a Holocaust Museum and Education Centre in Adelaide, South Australia in 2018.
The museum will be working closely with the Jewish Holocaust Centre (JHC) in Melbourne to offer the best educational experience to student visitors and to access the JHC’s Guides program so that the intergenerational transfer of critical stories of survival can be retold for future generations through volunteers. In addition, links will be developed with other diverse communities in Adelaide who have fled persecution and/or genocide with a goal of promoting tolerance, compassion and human rights for all. This collaboration will nurture positive cross-cultural relationships events, cultural and arts-based exhibitions, events and activities that support the center’s goals.
Keynote speaker at the launch was be Alpha Cheng, a Canberra based High School Teacher, Multiculturalism and Diversity Advocate and 2017 ACT Young Australian of the Year Finalist.
Alpha is the son of Curtis Cheng who was tragically shot by a 15-year old extremist outside NSW Police Headquarters in Parramatta in October 2015. In December 2015, Alpha participated in the Gandel Holocaust Studies Scholarship for Australian Educators. Through his experiences meeting Holocaust survivors, Alpha was inspired by their strength and desire to spread the message of hope and tolerance. Since then Alpha has become a vocal advocate for gun control and speaking out against racism hate and prejudice. In 2017, Alpha was named inaugural ambassador for Courage to Care Victoria, championing Holocaust education for a modern audience.
The Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Steiner Education Centre Trustees could not be more pleased that John Gandel AC and his wife Pauline Gandel, and the Trustees of Gandel Foundation, share the vision of this project and are supporting the development and establishment of the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Steiner Education Centre. As a leader in Holocaust Education, Gandel Foundation sees this Museum and Education Centre as vital to ensure all people, particularly students, can learn about the Holocaust, its relevance today, and Human Rights in general.
As part of the overall development of an integrated museum which will contain some artefacts and house permanent and travelling exhibitions along with a tailored education program for students, the matching grant from Gandel Foundation will be utilised to fund the design and fit out of the museum’s main gallery and the curation and mounting of the permanent Holocaust exhibition.
The Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Steiner Education Centre plan to raise a total of $270,000 for the development of this new Centre in the heart of Adelaide and the public donations will be used to fund the renovations and fit out of the remaining two smaller galleries.
With rising tensions across the world, the need to ensure the message of ‘Never Again’ by educating future generations about the Holocaust and the circumstances that enabled it to occur is more important than ever. All donations will have a direct impact, touching the lives of future generations and promoting values that contribute to a more harmonious society.
For details on supporting this exciting initiative and for a copy of the prospectus please contact Project Manager, Sue Drenth on 0419486476 or email sdrenth@ahmec.org.au