The Jewish Holocaust Centre

On 3 March, the Jewish Holocaust Centre held a dinner to mark its 27th anniversary. In March 1984, a group of men and women, most of them in their late fifties and early sixties, finalised their preparations for the official opening of the Centre. These Holocaust survivors had all lost members of their families and had witnessed history’s greatest crime, yet their legacy is not one of hatred and bitterness. Instead, theirs is a message of tolerance, human dignity and, significantly, of the continuity and vibrancy of Jewish life. It is due to the vision of these survivors – those with us today and those who have passed on – that the Jewish Holocaust Centre has become one of our community’s outstanding institutions. Last year alone, with the opening of the Centre’s superb upgraded museum, well over 18,000 students from throughout Victoria – an unprecedented number – visited the Centre. Over 5,500 others – locals and visitors from interstate and overseas, together with a host of dignitaries – also visited the Centre.

The celebratory dinner on 3 March was attended by Holocaust survivors and their families and friends, together with representatives of Jewish and community organisations. Special guests included Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Poland’s Chief Rabbi; Margaret Esakoff, Mayor of the City of Glen Eira; Helen Shardey, recently-retired former Member of State Parliament; and the children of two of the Jewish Holocaust Centre’s founders – Nuritt Borsky, daughter of the late Aron Sokolowicz, and Nathan