Arthur Horwitz, the son of a Holocaust survivor, said while growing up he inhaled two types of second-hand smoke. One consisted of the filter-less Camels, Winstons and Marlboros puffed by his mother, Sally Finkelstein Horwitz, and her friends. The other comprised of stories of destruction, death and heroism shared amongst the group – not knowing young Arthur was eavesdropping from inside a closet or behind a door.

While the smoke from the cigs would eventually disappear, the stories of personal experiences of the Holocaust left a lasting impression on the young boy.

“Among the heroes was Gogacz, a very ordinary Polish Catholic foreman pressed into service by the Nazis who did the extraordinary – intervening with a Nazi guard to save my mother's life,” Horwitz recalls. “Don't be silent in the face of injustice, otherwise you are an accomplice. That was the behavior Gogacz modeled. Sally wanted her friends, and by extension, me, to remember that.”

It’s these types of lessons, experiences and stories that are the genesis for the transformation of the core exhibit at The Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills. The historic $31 million renovation of the Core Exhibit is a commitment to preserving the legacy of Holocaust victims and survivors.

The new exhibit, a collaboration with renowned design firm Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), brings a fresh perspective by centering the voices of those who experienced the Holocaust and highlighting survivors who made Michigan their home after World War II.

“Each week, there are fewer and fewer survivors of the Holocaust still alive and able to share personal stories with visitors to the Zekelman Holocaust Center,” Horwitz said. “I am grateful to be invited to occasionally share my mother's story, through my own lens as the child of a Holocaust survivor, with school groups from across Michigan. Every survivor has their own story. The new exhibit helps assure that the voices of many local survivors will be heard and their important messages will endure the test of time.”

After World War II, Michigan was home to 4,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors, including hidden children and others who barely escaped the coming Nazi threat. The arrivals built forward-looking lives during decades of safety and security in the United States.

Visitors can now hear portions of the survivors’ testimonies in their own voices with their words displayed on panels, gallery walls or projected on floors. By shifting the focus from the perpetrators to the Jewish victims, The Holocaust Center is preserving the legacy of our precious survivors to benefit generations to come.

The new exhibit, which opened in late January, makes extensive use of archival footage, images and artifacts, as well as interactive video of survivor testimony to place the voices of those impacted by the Holocaust as its focus.

Eli Mayerfeld, CEO of the Holocaust Center, said memorializing the six million is the foundation of all of the museum’s activities.

“The greatest differentiating factor between the original and the new exhibit is the centering of the voices of those who experienced the Holocaust,” Mayerfeld said. “Throughout the exhibit, visitors will hear the personal stories of those who survived the Holocaust and rebuilt their lives in Michigan after the war. By localizing the history from the perspective of those who lived it, rather than those who perpetrated it, we are showing that the Holocaust did not happen so long ago or so far away.”

The Holocaust Center reaches 150,000 visitors annually through in-person and virtual programs, exhibit tours, and teacher training workshops.

For more information about The Zekelman Holocaust Center, visit https://www.holocaustcenter.org/.