National Holocaust Centre and Museum

The National Holocaust Centre and Museum, previously known as Beth Shalom (lit. "House of Peace"), is a Holocaust memorial centre near Laxton in Nottinghamshire in England.

Opened in September 1995, Beth Shalom was the first venue in Britain dedicated to the Holocaust as its primary purpose,[1] though there is also a permanent exhibition at London's Imperial War Museum and another in Huddersfield, the Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre, which was opened in 2018.[2] The Centre was founded by brothers James and Stephen Smith following a 1991 visit to Israel during which a trip to Yad Vashem changed the way they looked at history and the Holocaust.[3][4]

The museum seeks to educate primary school children about the Holocaust through its primary exhibit on children's experiences,[5] funded in part by a lottery grant of nearly £500,000.[6] Prince Harry was educated about the Holocaust at the Centre after he was criticised for wearing a Nazi Afrika Korps costume with swastika armband to a fancy dress party in 2005.[7][8]

On 21 July 2010, almost twenty years after the Holocaust Centre was founded, James and Stephen Smith and their mother Marina were each awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Nottingham Trent University.[9]

The venue is based around an old farm house (grid reference SK700670) which has a purpose-built exhibition centre with lecture theatre, and a Memorial Garden. A feature of the garden is a black stone on which are inscribed the names of the Nazi death camps.

The centre is also home to the Aegis Trust, an all-party group working for genocide prevention.

  • Holocaust Memorial Garden at Beth Shalom
  • Garden at Beth Shalom
  • Flame sculpture

See also

References

  1. ^ Beth Shalom web site, About Us
  2. ^ Deborah Linton (5 March 2008). "Holocaust Museum Put on Hold". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 March 2008.; Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre officially opens.
  3. ^ James Smith (15 February 2004). "We Found Love in a World of Horror". Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  4. ^ Ori Golan (11 October 2002). "In Memory of Tomorrow". Jerusalem Post. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  5. ^ "Holocaust Exhibit Targets Pupils". BBC News. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Lotto Boost for Beth Shalom Centre and Arts". Nottingham Evening Post. Europe Intelligence Wire. 19 March 2005. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  7. ^ Terry Kirby (15 January 2005). "Royal Nazi Row: Prince to be Sent to Holocaust Exhibition". The Independent. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  8. ^ "Harry says sorry for Nazi costume". BBC News. 13 January 2005. Archived from the original on 28 October 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  9. ^ "Honorary graduates". Nottingham Trent University. Retrieved 16 August 2022.

53°11′46″N 0°57′09″W / 53.1962°N 0.9525°W / 53.1962; -0.9525

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