Our Vision for the future NYS Holocaust Memorial
Traveling Memorial Exhibits Across New York State

Since our founding in 2018, Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial, Inc. (CDJHM) has been dedicated to creating a permanent Holocaust Memorial in the State Capital. In 2024, we brought this effort to the attention of the New York State Legislature, and ultimately, based on CDJHM’s vision for the Memorial, S5784/A7614 passed both the Senate and Assembly unanimously. The legislation states the need to “memorialize the victims of the Holocaust and to educate the public about the history of the Holocaust and the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and all manifestations of intolerance” by creating a permanent New York State Holocaust Memorial (NYSHM) in the Empire State Plaza. As such, the Memorial is well within reach.

Our vision for the future New York State Holocaust Memorial

A Design Rooted in Sacred Symbolism

The vision for the permanent Memorial embraces well-known symbols of Judaism. The shovel-ready design and design documents created by noted Dembling and Dembling Architects, PC, depict six star point towers representing the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and the aerial view is of a Jewish star.

The Time to Remember Is Now

It is critically important that the Memorial be built now when antisemitic violence is at its highest since the Holocaust, awareness of the Holocaust is at an all-time low, and the impact of unchecked hate and Holocaust denial is taking its toll in New York and throughout the United States. The Memorial will ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust, as well as the remarkable contributions that Holocaust survivors and their descendants have made right here in New York, are better understood and appreciated.

Curriculum Sites & Sections

You can start exploring our Holocaust education resources TODAY!

Site 1 Entrance & Arrival

  • What is Judaism?
  • What is Antisemitism?
  • Historical Antisemitism
  • Jewish Life Before the Holocaust

Site 2 Nazi Germany (Storefronts)

  • From Democracy to Dictatorship
  • Kristallnacht

Site 3 Ghettoization & Deportation (Cattle Car)

  • Control, Isolation, and Weakening

Site 4 The Final Solution (Fence)

Site 5 Never Forget - Resistance

  • Jewish Passive (Cultural & Spiritual) Resistance
  • Jewish Armed Resistance (e.g., Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Partisans)
  • Non-Jewish Rescuers (Righteous Among Nations) Includes Oswego “Safe Haven”
  • Additional Resources: Teaching About Genocide

Site 6 Contemplative Space (Memorial Center)

  • A space to bear witness
  • Reflect
  • Commemorate
  • Gather

Site 7 Never Again - L'dor V'dor (from Generation to Generation) Garden

  • Contemporary Antisemitism
  • Activism
  • Examining Effects of Prejudice and Hate

Site 8 Recognition Wall

  • Founders
  • Partners
  • Donors
  • Contributors

Traveling Memorials

The goal in developing online education and traveling exhibits is to bring the information we are teaching to the learner, rather than their having to come to us to be taught. Online learning offers increased flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and opportunities to learn at one’s own pace, in addition to the increased accessibility. Traveling exhibits offer learning opportunities in communities where Holocaust education may be difficult to access. It is our hope that by making Holocaust education more convenient and accessible, more people will avail themselves of the opportunities to become more educated about this important issue.

Educators can access the curriculum prior to a visit to the Traveling Exhibits to better plan their approach with students. Students and the general public will be able to access the curriculum upon entering Traveling Exhibits and/or the permanent Memorial once it is built. A center area within the Traveling Exhibits allows participants to honor Holocaust Survivors who made a home in New York State.

Once the permanent memorial is built, the integration of educational opportunities and resources will be readily available to all. Inspired participants will also be able to use what they learn from their visit to the traveling exhibit or permanent memorial to develop their own plans for further education that can be implemented in local communities throughout the state.

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