and Tolerance Center

Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center

Founded in 1992 by Holocaust survivor Boris Chartan, the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County is a resource in the community for education on the Holocaust and all forms of intolerance, presenting lessons from the past to fight anti-Semitism and other manifestations of bigotry in the present. Although HMTC’s building temporarily closed in March as a result of the pandemic, the organization’s work in education and community outreach has evolved rather than pausing.

The tours and workshops that the center typically offers are no longer available in person, but school and public community programs have been adapted to a virtual format. Virtual museum tours have been available through Zoom, along with lectures on subjects such as women’s suffrage. Film screenings have also continued in a new way. With virtual post-screening discussions, the center provides both a link to purchase or stream a selected film and a link to a discussion of the film to watch afterward.

Another popular program is “Curator’s Corner.” Each week, Thorin Tritter, HMTC’s museum and programming director, discusses a different piece from the museum over Zoom. The discussions are posted on YouTube for anyone to watch as well.

The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center’s director of development, Deborah Lom, said that she hopes the center will be able to reopen after Labor Day and return to in-person programming while continuing the recent virtual programs. Lom added, however, that the center is prepared to continue its mission, whether physically open or not.