A groundbreaking institution is set to shape the educational landscape of Arizona: the Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center. The HFHEC will break ground in June 2025 and is scheduled to open its doors in April 2027. Designed to provide a transformative experience, this center will serve as a landmark in the city, welcoming 50,000 students and visitors each year. Its mission is clear—to inspire, educate, and empower individuals to stand against hate and bigotry.
An Immersive Educational Experience
The Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center is being designed by G&A, an internationally renowned museum and exhibition firm. With a primary focus on students in grades 7 to 12, the center will provide a deeply immersive journey through history, ensuring that young minds grasp the significance of the Holocaust and its enduring lessons. In addition, the center will extend its outreach to residents and tourists, expecting to attract 50,000 visitors each year.
Upon entering the center, visitors step into a reflective space—a setting crafted to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust while celebrating the resilience and courage of survivors. The center honors the memory of the six million Jewish victims, including 1.5 million children, and underscores the importance of standing against injustice.
Guided by Jewish Values
At its core, the Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center is defined by three essential Jewish values:
- Remembrance (Zahor) – Honoring the past and ensuring that history is never forgotten.
- Life (Chai) – Emphasizing the resilience of Jewish people and the importance of preserving life.
- Repairing the World (Tikkun Olam) – Encouraging action to combat hate and injustice in all forms.
A Journey Through History
The Education Center will feature two floors dedicated to different aspects of its mission:
- First Floor: Tikkun Olam Galleries – Showcasing efforts to repair the world, this level will focus on themes of resistance, resilience, and the impact of standing up against hate.
- Second Floor: Holocaust Galleries – A comprehensive, chronological narrative of the Holocaust, viewed through the perspectives of victims, perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, and upstanders.
One of the center’s most compelling spaces will be the Soaring Upstanders Hallway Gallery—a transitional and reflective area adorned with art and quotations, celebrating the joy and strength of Jewish life despite unimaginable hardship.
Engaging and Interactive Exhibits
The Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center will feature a large commissioned art installation. This installation will embody the shared mission of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and the center: to inspire upstanders who actively combat hatred and bigotry.
Visitors will experience history through a mix of media, artifacts, and digital storytelling, making the past come alive. Key exhibit highlights include:
- An immersive projection of Jewish life before the Holocaust, featuring family photos, home movies, and personal reflections.
- “From Hate to Genocide,” an interactive media experience tracing the rise of anti-Semitism, the Nazi regime, and the path to genocide.
- Interactive stations explore the roles of victims, bystanders, and upstanders, providing a nuanced look at how the Holocaust unfolded.
- The Jewish Resistance Gallery countered the myth that Jews were passive victims and showcased their acts of defiance.
- A liberation exhibit detailing survivors’ immense challenges and highlighting the resilience that allowed Jewish communities to rebuild.
A Call to Action
The Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center is about history, the present, and the future. Through its exhibits and programming, visitors will gain a greater understanding of the consequences of intolerance and renew their commitment to fighting injustice.
This center will be a landmark institution, one that will inspire and educate generations of Arizonans. “Thousands and thousands of students are going to visit as part of their education, and, of course, it will inspire people as almost nothing else can.”
By remembering the past, embracing the present, and taking action for the future, the Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center ensures that the lessons of history will never be forgotten.
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