My Time at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
Written By: Sarah Fischer
We took a trip to the new Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, which opened to the public on September 18th. Right away the architecture of the building stunned me. The floor to ceiling windows let in a generous amount of light that was to be shadowed by the history in which we were about to experience. To enter the main exhibit, we entered a small theater and watched a short video before walking into a dark stairwell, each landing only lit when the narrator’s voice told the history of the Jewish people. This was an extremely impactful entrance that built up anticipation with each level.
My first thought upon walking into the main exhibit was how uncomfortable I felt from seeing Swastikas and Nazi propaganda on every wall. This jarring entrance effectively made me feel afraid, angry and sad all at the same time. Although I had already felt this way, it stirred up more feelings of how I couldn’t believe that something this horrible had happened to millions of innocent people.
Along with artifacts recovered and saved from the Holocaust, there were many interactive screens scattered throughout. Each screen contained multiple testimonies from different Holocaust survivors and their own personal stories. I think this might have been my favorite part of the exhibition. The information and visual elements throughout were phenomenal and unique to demonstrating how global the Holocaust was, but the testimonials had the most personal pull. Seeing and hearing these survivors tell the most horrifying accounts of what they had to live through was extremely powerful.
The thing that I really feel like sets this museum apart is the Human Rights Wing. The exhibits lead you through the Holocaust timeline and then transitions into other human rights violations. This room is full of jarring displays about genocides throughout history and those occurring today. The consciousness-raising is effective.
The interactive hologram with Max Glauben reminded me a bit of a “Black Mirror” episode on Netflix. Mr. Glauben, a Holocaust survivor who has lived in the Dallas area for the past 66 years, sat down for an entire week and was asked over 1,000 questions. Attendees in the special exhibit are encouraged to ask him any question. An AI system then sorts through his answers to reply to your question. We were the only ones in the exhibit at the time and thinking of questions to ask was slightly difficult. We had just soaked up all of the information from the main exhibit and now we were face-to-face with a survivor who was able to tell us anything, but I was coming up blank. I hope to go back one day and ask everything that came to mind after leaving.
I am grateful for this experience. The visuals were truly astonishing and called to mind such a varied set of emotions. The use of new and advanced interactive technology-enhanced my connection to the subject matter. What I learned as a citizen and as a storyteller, I will take with me as we create stories for others. Thank you Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum for providing this impactful place of reflection.
Explore more of Mark Lamster’s, Dallas Morning News article to find out more about the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum.