What’s New in 2022 at the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio

April 1, 2022

For the 10th year, the HMMSA partnered with the San Antonio Public Library Foundation to host Learn & Remember in January. The theme for 2022 was “Immigration and Refugees,” which focused on the experience of those that escaped the persecution of the Holocaust by fleeing to other parts of the world, either as immigrants or refugees. Programming was held virtually and in person, including an exhibit sponsored by the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio that was displayed at the Westfall Branch of the San Antonio Public Library from January 3-27. The museum’s exhibit, The Displaced Persons Camps: Rebuilding Culture and Community in the Aftermath of World War II, documented life in the camps following WWII. The exhibit was originally created by the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County and made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibit was visited more than 150 times over the month of January. 

In addition, the HMMSA planned and executed 20 presentations during Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week (January 24-28, 2022).  Topics included the geography of the Holocaust, personal stories of survivors and their families, medical ethics, witnesses, the ghettos, and the Czech Torah scrolls. Through presentations and resources, the museum reached over 7,000 individuals during Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week. More than 5,000 students viewed a live-streamed presentation or attended an in-person presentation. Five traveling exhibits and 18 educational trunks were utilized by schools during the month of January, serving more than 13,000 students. Recordings of presentations are posted on the HMMSA website and are still being viewed in classrooms. 

In total, throughout January the HMMSA was able to provide educational opportunities to over 20,000 students and individuals throughout Texas and beyond. 

So what is next for the HMMSA?  The museum continues rolling out meaningful tours and programming to the greater San Antonio and South Texas communities.  Upcoming activities and programs open to the community include: 

• Docent-led Museum Tours 
• A Virtual Live Tour of Auschwitz 
• Community Commemoration of Yom HaShoah on April 27, 7:00 p.m. at Congregation Rodfei Sholom 

• Volunteer and Docent Recruitment and Training 
• HMMSA Reads Book Club – The Haven by Ruth Gruber on May 10, 6:00 p.m. (Zoom) 
• And more! 

Interested in learning more? Interested in becoming a docent or volunteering with the HMMSA?  Visit www.hmmsa.org or contact the museum at (210) 302-6807.